The domestic equity benchmarks currently traded near the day's high in afternoon trade. The Nifty continued to trade above the 18,350 level. Trading is expected to be volatile due to expiry of monthly F&O contracts on the NSE.
At 13:28 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 343.88 points or 0.56% to 61,854.46. The Nifty 50 index added 104.45 points or 0.57% to 18,371.70.
Apollo Hospitals (up 4.10%), HDFC Life (up 3.62%), BPCL (up 2.93%), HCL Tech (up 2.41%) and Power Grid Corp (up 2.18%) were the top Nifty gainers.
Coal India (down 1.08%), Bajaj Finserv (down 0.87%), Kotak Mahindra Bank (down 0.83%), Bajaj Finance (down 0.47%) and Eicher Motors (down 0.43%) were the top Nifty losers.
In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.32% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index added 0.36%.
The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 1,936 shares rose, and 1,453 shares fell. A total of 159 shares were unchanged.
Investors cheered after the minutes from the US Fed's October meeting indicated the possibility of slowing down of rate hikes in the near future. Reports of more monetary stimulus in China, including a likely cut to the reserve requirement ratio for banks, further lifted the investor's spirits.
Stocks in Spotlight:
Reliance Industries (RIL) was down 0.07%. RIL said that Jio announced that Jio True 5G will now be available in Pune from 23 November 2022. Jio users in Pune will be invited to the Jio Welcome Offer, to experience Unlimited Data at up to 1 Gbps+ speeds, at no additional cost.
Cipla added 0.09%. The drug major said that it has received a communication from the United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) that the classification of company's Goa manufacturing facility continues to be as Official Action Indicated (OAI).
Biocon fell 1.46%. The company has announced the signing of a semi-exclusive partnership agreement with Zentiva, a leading pharmaceutical company in Europe, for the commercialization of its vertically integrated, complex formulation, Liraglutide, a drug-device combination for the treatment and management of Type 2 diabetes and obesity.
SBI Cards and Payment Services declined 0.26%. The NBFC said that Aparna Kuppuswamy, chief risk officer of the company has tendered her resignation from the services of the company. Her last working day with the company will be 10 February 2023,” the company said in a statement.
Global markets:
Markets in Europe and Asia mostly edged higher on Thursday after minutes from the latest Federal Reserve meeting revealed that policymakers expected a slowing in the pace of rate hikes to soon be appropriate.
European investors also reacted to Wednesday's flash November PMI (purchasing managers' index) readings from the euro zone, which reaffirmed that the 19-member currency bloc has entered recession, but showed the downturn in business slowing slightly.
Meanwhile, the Bank of Korea raised its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to 3.25%, a smaller hike than its previous move and widely in line with expectations.
China has reportedly signaled more monetary stimulus was on the cards, including a likely cut to the reserve requirement ratio for banks, as it ramps up support for an economy under strain from surging Covid cases and more lockdowns.
The State Council reportedly said in a statement Wednesday that monetary tools “such as a RRR cut” will be used “in a timely and appropriate manner” to maintain reasonably ample liquidity.
China's economic outlook is darkening as Covid cases climb to a record and cities tighten restrictions to combat the spread of infections. Even with a RRR cut and more monetary stimulus, the economy is still likely to be pressured by Covid Zero. A foreign research house on Thursday reportedly cut its forecasts for China's growth for this year and next, citing a “slow, costly and bumpy” reopening of the country.
US markets are closed on Thursday for the Thanksgiving holiday and will close early on Friday.
Stocks on Wall Street rose Wednesday and notched the second straight day of gains as investors cheered minutes from the Federal Reserve that signaled a slower pace of interest rate hikes ahead.
The report showed that the central bank sees progress in its fight to lower inflation and expects to slow the pace of interest rate hikes going forward. “A substantial majority of participants judged that a slowing in the pace of increase would likely soon be appropriate,” the minutes stated. “The uncertain lags and magnitudes associated with the effects of monetary policy actions on economic activity and inflation were among the reasons cited regarding why such an assessment was important.”
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