Markets closed flat on Wednesday as investors waited for the outcome of the United States Federal Reserve announcement about interest rates on Wednesday night. While the Bombay Stock Exchange Sensex closed down 44.52 points at 29,398.11, the National Stock Exchange Nifty fell 2.20 points to 9,084.80. The Goods and Services Tax Council meet on Thursday also led to cautious trading.
However, the overall mood in the stock market was buoyant on Wednesday. The Bombay Stock Exchange Sensex was trading at 29,438 at 11.42 am while the Nifty, which had hit its all-time high on Tuesday following Bharatiya Janata Party’s landslide victory in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly election, was marginally up and hovered around the 9,100-mark.
Among the major gainers during the intraday session was Idea Cellular. Its shares rose more than 12% after that ATC was about to complete the buyout of the telecom major’s tower business. Shares of pharmaceutical firms like Biocon and Alkem Labs also soared. Adani Ports, Reliance, and Bank of Baroda also made some gains.
The Indian rupee on Wednesday rose 0.41 points to touch a 16-month high of 65.41 against the dollar.
This year, the rupee has become the third-best performing currency in Asia after South Korea’s won and Taiwan’s dollar. The home currency has gained nearly 3.6% in the first three months of 2017, reported Mint.
This surge in valuation has been attributed to a buying spree by foreign institutional investors. They purchased Indian shares worth around Rs 4,100 crore on Tuesday, reported Business Standard. However, this surge brought stocks of information technology firms under selling pressure, as earnings will drop once the dollar is converted to rupee. Stocks of Tata Consultancy Services, HCL and other IT firms registered a drop.
The Asian market, on the other hand, suffered losses as traders fear an interest rate change by the Federal Reserve. Japan’s Nikkei 225 was down 0.2% after the yen strengthened against the dollar. A stronger yen is usually a marker of negative growth for Japanese stocks, reported Moneycontrol.
Limited-time offer: Big stories, small price. Keep independent media alive. Become a Scroll member today!
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!