Indian shares log sixth straight session of gains as Fed mins fuel US rate cut hopes
By Bharath Rajeswaran
BENGALURU (Reuters) -Indian shares advanced on Thursday, tracking global peers, after minutes of the US Federal Reserve's latest policy meeting signalled a rate cut as early as next month.
The NSE Nifty 50 index rose 0.17% at 24,811.5. The S&P BSE Sensex added 0.18% to 81,053.19.
Both the benchmarks have logged gains for six sessions in a row, adding about 2.8% each.
"U.S. economic data over the last week has abated fears of a likely recession, powering the sustained rise, while the minutes of the Fed's latest policy meeting has boosted the enthusiasm. Now, a Fed rate cut in September looks like a certainty," said Saurabh Jain of SMC Global Securities.
Other Asian markets also rose, with the MSCI Asia ex-Japan index adding 0.3%. European markets opened higher.
Investors await Fed Chair Jerome Powell's address on Friday, which could provide confirmation of a rate cut in September. [MKTS/GLOB]
Domestic institutional investors have been net buyers over the last 14 sessions, cushioning foreign outflows.
Seven of the 13 major sectors advanced, on the day. The more domestically focussed small- and mid-caps rose about 0.2% and 0.7%, respectively.
High weightage financials added 0.45%. Consumer stocks gained 0.62% to a record high.
Dabur gained about 2% and was among the top gainers in consumer index.
The company signed deal with the state of Tamil Nadu to set up a manufacturing facility, scaling-up investment to 4 billion rupees(about $48 million) over five years.
TVS Motor gained 2.84% to a record high. The company which launched a variant of its mid-ranged scooter on the day, was the top gainer in auto index.
Interglobe Aviation jumped 4.26% after HSBC raised target price and Jefferies upgraded the stock to "buy" from "hold", citing steady earnings.
($1 = 83.9130 Indian rupees)
(Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips, Janane Venkatraman and Nivedita Bhattacharjee)