By Bharath Rajeswaran
BENGALURU (Reuters) -India’s benchmark indexes advanced to new all-time highs on Thursday as a global rally spilled over to regional markets after the U.S. Federal Reserve flagged the end of its tightening cycle and bolstered expectations of a rate cut in March 2024.
The NSE Nifty 50 index rose 1.15% to 21,167.05 points, while the S&P BSE Sensex added 1.24% to 70,450.86, as of 9:53 a.m. IST.
Twelve of the 13 major sectors logged gains. Information technology (IT) index jumped 3%. HCLTech, Tech Mahindra, LTIMindtree, Infosys and Wipro were the top Nifty 50 gainers, adding between 2.5% and 3.5%.
The rise in shares of IT companies, which earn a significant share of their revenue from the U.S., comes after the Fed acknowledged it is making “real progress” in easing inflation, while maintaining a rate pause.
Chair Jerome Powell said the Fed is aware of the risks of keeping rates higher for too long and lowering them too late, bolstering expectations of a rate cut in early 2024.
The odds of a 25 basis point rate cut in March 2024 rose to 65.9% on Thursday from 39.7% a day before, according to the CME’s FedWatch tool.
Wall Street equities jumped overnight after Fed commentary while Asian markets edged higher. [MKTS/GLOB]
High weightage banks and financials gained about 1.2% each.
“Indian shares are primed for further upside on the back of strong economic growth powered by government capex, hopes of political continuity in 2024, easing global rate outlook as well as favourable liquidity conditions,” said Umeshkumar Mehta, chief investment officer at Samco Mutual Fund.
The more-domestic focussed small- and mid-caps added 1% and 0.75%, respectively.
(Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran in Bengaluru; Editing by Sonia Cheema, Janane Venkatraman and Nivedita Bhattacharjee)
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