NIFTY50, SENSEX close in green; NTPC among top gainers ahead of NTPC Green Energy IPO

Indian equity markets scaled new high levels during the day but as the day progressed come off from day’s high and ended with limited gains. Markets remained in green terrain till the end of the session following the US Federal Reserve’s decision to cut policy rates by a widely expected 50bps. Besides, other Asian markets provided much needed support to domestic markets. However, the broader indices, the BSE Mid cap index and Small cap index ended in red.

Markets made a positive start and hit lifetime highs as the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) cut its policy rate by half a percentage point to a target range of 4.75 per cent to 5 per cent. Foreign fund inflows also boosted investors' sentiments. As per NSE data, Foreign Institutional Investors (FII) were net buyers of Indian equities worth ₹1,153.69 crore. Some support also came as net direct tax collection grew 16.12 % to over ₹9.95 trillion so far this fiscal on higher advance tax mop up. Refunds worth over₹ 2.05 trillion were issued, a 56.49% jump over the same period last fiscal.

Further, markets continued to trade above neutral lines in afternoon session. Traders got relief, amid reports that food secretary Sanjeev Chopra said that prices of major agricultural commodities such as wheat, rice, edible oil and sugar will not see a sharp increase in this festive season, and added that the government will partially restore the distribution of 3.5 million tonnes of wheat under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) which it had replaced with rice in the past two years due to lower production. Finally, Nifty and Sensex settled above the psychological 25,400 and 83,100 levels, respectively.

Global markets

On the global front, European markets were trading higher after the U.S. Federal Reserve slashed its key rate by 50 basis points and signaled further easing, raising hopes of a soft landing for the world's largest economy. All Asian markets ended higher. Back home, South Asian nation’s Economic Affairs Secretary Ajay Seth said that the U.S. Federal Reserve’s decision to cut interest rates will not significantly impact inflows into India.

The BSE Sensex ended at 83,184.80, up by 236.57 points or 0.29% after trading in a range of 83,071.66 and 83,773.61. There were 18 stocks advancing against 12 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices ended in red; the BSE Mid cap index declined 0.53%, while Small cap index was down by 1.06%.

Top sectoral gainers & losers

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Consumer Durables up by 0.64%, Realty up by 0.47%, Bankex up by 0.46%, FMCG up by 0.40% and Consumer Discretionary was up by 0.34%, while Telecom down by 3.89%, Oil & Gas down by 1.81%, Industrials down by 1.56%, Capital Goods down by 1.46% and PSU was down by 1.34% were the top losing indices on BSE.

Top gainers & losers

European markets were trading higher; UK’s FTSE 100 increased 95.88 points or 1.15% to 8,349.56, France’s CAC rose 138.35 points or 1.82% to 7,583.25 and Germany’s DAX was up by 261.62 points or 1.38% to 18,973.11.