Fed rate move cheers market

STOCK REPORT

Stocks market continued its upward march on Wednesday as investors cheered the US Fed decision not to hike interest rates.

BSE Sensex rose by 130.21 points or 1.18 per cent to close at its highest level since May 18 at 11,145.18 while NSE's S&P CNX Nifty closed at 3,254.6, up 42.2 points or 1.31 per cent.

This is the highest close for the Nifty Index since May 19. Most Asian indices were also positive on Wednesday with Japanese Nikkei ending higher by 2.20 per cent.

The broader market breadth was majorly positive with as many as 1,668 stocks ending in positive territory as against 731 declining stocks. The combined turnover in the equity markets was also above the recent average at Rs 31,176.93 crore.

"The Federal Open Market Committee decision was a positive cue. More than that, the Q1 results by the companies showed phenomenal growth in earnings. This has made the Indian equity markets fairly valued," said Manish Bandi, vice-president, portfolio management services at India Infoline.

The mid-cap stocks, which went into a tailspin in the last couple of months, found bargain buying by foreign funds, he said.

There has been significant buying happening in good mid-cap stocks too. The BSE Mid-Cap Index gained by about two per cent, compared to the broader 1.42 per cent increase reflected in BSE-500 Index.

Dealers said foreign funds, which were on a selling spree during May in all emerging markets including India, are likely to pump in more money into the domestic equity markets on the back of good corporate earnings in the first quarter.

According to provisional figures by NSE, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net buyers for Rs 165.15 crore in cash segment on Wednesday.

During the first seven sessions of this month, the FIIs are net buyers to the tune of Rs 1,021.20 crore. "Foreign buying soared from recent levels; total net inflow reached $1.0 billion in emerging markets (in July last week). In particular, foreign appetite finally returned to India; in contrast they stayed away from trading in Taiwan," said a report by Goldman Sachs.