Sensex and Nifty50 opened in the green for the third consecutive day amid positive cues from global markets. This comes after the US Fed’s meeting revealed that the central bank is open to the possibility of slowing down the pace of interest rate hikes.
SGX Nifty, an early indicator of how the Indian market may perform, was up 0.47% on Thursday early morning.
The 30-stock index Sensex opened 145 points higher at 61,656 while the Nifty50 opened 58 points up at 18,326.
On Wednesday, Sensex closed 92 points higher at 61,511 while the Nifty50 ended the day 23 points up at 18,267. In the last five days, Sensex has fallen 0.85% while Nifty50 has slipped 0.65%.
“Indian markets could open higher, in line with higher Asian markets today and positive US markets on Wednesday,” said Deepak Jasani, head of retail research at HDFC securities.
According to analysts at Goldman Sachs, Nifty50 could reach 20,500 by the end of 2023, which is an upside of 12% from the current levels. However, the research firm noted that it is less likely that the Indian equities market will continue to outperform its global peers for the third consecutive year due to rate hikes, weak rupee and sticky inflation.
Asian markets trended higher after the US Federal Reserve minutes indicated a slowdown in the pace of hike in interest rates. Japan’s Nikkei 225 rallied 1.18%, Taiwan TSEC 50 Index traded 0.51% higher, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was up 0.46%, and China’s Shanghai SE Composite Index was up 0.08%.
Brent crude oil prices fell to $85.2 per barrel on Thursday morning from $88.2 during market close on Wednesday due to reports of the price cap on Russian crude oil being higher than expected.
The Rupee fell 18 paise to close at 81.85 against the US dollar on Wednesday.
US markets surge on possibility of US Fed
US markets closed on a positive note on Wednesday after the US Fed’s meeting minutes revealed that there is a possibility of slowing down the pace of interest rate hikes.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) closed 0.28% up at 34,194, while S&P 500 closed 0.59% up at 4,027. The tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 0.99% to close at 11,285.
The US markets will remain closed on Thursday on account of Thanksgiving and will close trading at midday on Friday on Black Friday.
