Equity indices traded sideways with small gains in the mid-morning trade. The Nifty slipped below the 14,800 mark. Pharma and IT shares corrected while banks and metal stocks were in demand.
At 11:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 185.73 points or 0.37% at 49,987.19. The Nifty 50 index added 59.45 points or 0.4% at 14,780.
Global cues were positive after the US Federal Reserve kept monetary policy and rates unchanged and projected a rapid jump in US economic growth.
In broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was up 0.03% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index slipped 0.24%.
The market breadth turned negative. On the BSE, 1222 shares rose and 1458 shares fell. A total of 122 shares were unchanged.
COVID-19 Update:
Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 121,158,726 with 2,680,220 deaths. India reported 252,364 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 159,216 deaths while 110,63,025 patients have been discharged, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.
Buzzing Index:
The Nifty Metal index gained added 1.44% to 3,806.75, snapping its two-day losing streak. The index lost 3.28% in the past two days.
Hindalco Industries (up 4%), Jindal Steel & Power (up 1.6%), Tata Steel (up 1.58%), Steel Authority of India (up 1.31%), JSW Steel (up 1%), National Aluminium Company (up 0.53%) and NMDC (up 0.53%) were top gainers in metal segment.
Global Markets:
Asian markets were trading higher on Thursday after the Federal Reserve pledged to keep monetary policy and rates unchanged and projected a rapid jump in U.S. economic growth this year as the COVID-19 crisis eases.
In US, the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at record highs on Wednesday after the Fed predicted a fast economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic and said it would maintain its interest rate at close to zero. It was the first time the Dow closed above 33,000 points.
While the Fed expects benchmark interest rates to remain near zero for the next two years, the central bank upgraded their economic outlook to reflect expectations for a stronger recovery from the pandemic-triggered recession. Gross domestic product is expected to grow 6.5% in 2021 before cooling off in later years.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell said in a press conference that the Fed would need to see a material and sustained move in inflation above 2% before considering changes to its current easy policy stance.
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