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Benchmark indices continue to trade firm supported by index heavyweight and financial shares. Further, Federal Reserve post the two-day FOMC meet kept the interest rates steady at zero and indicated it may hike interest rates in September.
By 10:30, the Sensex was higher by 246 points at 27,078 and the Nifty gained 63 points at 8,155.
In the currency front, the rupee appreciated 25 paise to trade at 63.87 against the dollar in early trade today at the Interbank Foreign Exchange after the American currency weakened overseas amid sustained selling of the greenback by exporters and banks.
The main gainers on the Sensex are Reliance Inds, ICICI Bank, BHEL, HDFC Bank, Wipro, TCS, HDFC and M&M.
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Updated at 9:30
Markets have extended gains for fifth straight day and have started higher after the Federal Reserve post the two-day FOMC meet kept the interest rates steady at zero and indicated it may hike interest rates in September.
By 9:30, the Sensex was higher by 227 points at 27,060 and the Nifty gained 56 points at 8,147. Among broader markets, BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices are up almost 1%. The market breadth is positive with 909 shares advancing and 226 shares declining on the BSE.
Meanwhile, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth a net Rs 940.91 crore On Wednesday as per provisional data released by the stock exchanges.
EXPERT VIEW
Analysts say that investors should not take too much risk at the current levels and remain stock specific.
"We maintain our directional negative view on the market and thus, it’s advisable to continue with the ‘sell on rise’ strategy. The immediate downside correction can be expected around 7,950 – 7,900 and on the other hand, 8150 is likely to act as a major hurdle for the bulls. One can concentrate on stock specific moves and avoid taking undue risk," said technical analysts at Angel Broking in a report.
As regards Bank Nifty, analysts at Anand Rathi suggest that it has support near to 17,500 then 17,300 levels while on upside multiple hurdles seen at 17,800 then 18,000 levels.
GLOBAL MARKETS
Asian equities rose early on Thursday after the Federal Reserve sounded more dovish than many had expected and led investors to push back their expected timing of a rate hike, while the dollar was put on the defensive on the same token.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan climbed 0.3%. South Korea's Kospi rose 0.7%, while Japan's Nikkei dipped 0.1% on the yen's gains against the dollar.
Wall Street shares inched higher in a choppy session overnight following the Fed's statements, with the Dow rising 0.17% and S&P gaining 0.2%.
After a closely-watched two-day meeting, the Fed said the economy was likely strong enough to support an interest rate increase by the end of the year. But it lowered its expectations for 2015 economic growth because of a weak start to the year and reduced its growth and federal funds rate forecast.
SECTORS & STOCKS
Sectors like Healthcare, IT, Auto, Banks, Capital Goods, Consumer Durables, Oil & Gas and Realty are up around 1% each. Infact, all the sectoral indices are trading in positive zone.
The top gainers on the Sensex are Cipla, ICICI Bank, Sun Pharma, Wipro, Dr Reddy’s Labs, L&T and Axis Bank.
Proposals for foreign direct investment amounting to around Rs 4,000 crore by four pharma and medical devices firms, including Torrent Pharmaceuticals and Biocon's research services arm Syngene, were approved by the government.
On the losing side, Bharti Airtel, Tata Steel and Tata Power have slipped between 0.1-1%.
Bharti Airtel on Wednesday said its agreement with Helios Towers Africa (HTA) for sale of tower assets in Tanzania and Tchad signed last year has been terminated.
Industrial action by workers at Tata Steel UK has been suspended until Saturday so that a new offer on pensions can be considered.
Among other shares, Strides Arcolab has dipped 5.4% to Rs 1,091 on the BSE in early morning trade after the government has rejected proposal of pharmaceutical company.
With Reuters inputs
