Rupee, bonds gain on 'less hawkish' policy despite US Fed rate hike

Fed Chair Powell's comments suggest slower pace of hikes going ahead, say markets

Indian government bonds and the rupee strengthened on Thursday despite a 75-basis-point (bp) rate hike by the US Federal Reserve as key aspects of the central bank’s commentary were perceived as indicating that future policy tightening may occur at a slower pace in the world’s largest economy.

At 9.30 am IST, the rupee was trading at 79.78 per US dollar, stronger than 79.90 to a dollar at previous close. A sharp rise in domestic stocks also boosted the rupee, with the BSE Sensex and the NSE Nifty both trading 1 per cent higher.

Yield on the 10-year benchmark 6.54 per