Indian stock markets rose by over 1% on Thursday amid expectations that the United States Federal Reserve will soon cut interest rates, Mint reported. The BSE Sensex zoomed 488.89 points, or 1.25%, to finish at 39.601.63. The National Stock Exchange Nifty surged 140.30 points, or 1.2%, to finish at 11,831.75.
The US central bank had kept the interest rates steady on Wednesday, CNBC reported. While the bank, in its statement, indicated that there would no rate cuts this year, Chairperson Jerome Powell’s remark seemed to complicate the matter. “Many [market] participants now see the case for somewhat more accommodative policy has strengthened,” Powell said in a press conference.
US President Donald Trump has been pressuring the central bank to cut interest rates. Markets expect rate cuts to come as soon as July, the news network reported.
The biggest gainers on the Sensex on Thursday were Yes Bank, Sun Pharmaceuticals, IndusInd Bank, Larsen & Toubro and ICICI Bank. The top stocks on the Nifty were Yes Bank, Indiabulls Housing Finance, Sun Pharmaceuticals, IndusInd Bank and Larsen & Toubro.
The only losers on the Sensex were Hindustan Unilever, HDFC Bank, ITC and National Thermal Power Corporation. On the Nifty, stocks of UPL, Wipro, Adani Ports, Britannia and Tech Mahindra declined the most.
Other major Asian markets also surged on Thursday. The Hong Kong Hang Seng finished 331.53 points higher, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 128.99 points. The Taiwan TSEC 50 Index finished almost flat at 9.67 points ahead, but the Shanghai SE Composite Index gained 69.32 points.
The Indian rupee was trading 13 paise higher at 69.55 against the United States dollar at 4.25 pm.
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