New Delhi: Leading domestic equity benchmark Sensex rose nearly 500 points in early trade on Thursday, tracking a positive trend in global markets following the US monetary policy decision.
In early trade, the 30-share index rose 494 points (0.86 per cent) to 58,282. Similarly, the Nifty rose 122 points (0.71 per cent) to reach 17,343.
Infosys was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rising over 2 per cent, led by Bajaj Finance, HCL Tech, Tata Steel, Tech Mahindra and NTPC.
On the other hand, Maruti, Sun Pharma, HUL and ITC were among the laggards.
However, the index failed to maintain its morning gains after an hour of trading. Both equity benchmarks retreated. At 10.15 am, the Sensex was up 190 points at 57,983, while the Nifty was trading up 51 points at 17,272.
Last night, the US Federal Reserve said it would accelerate its pullback of economic stimulus and hike interest rates three times next year to tackle rising inflation.
“A hawkish Fed sending markets higher is rare. But it happened in the US on Wednesday, as markets were positioned for a hawkish Fed, but hawkishness had positive market connotation,” said VK Vijayakumar, chief investment strategist at Geojit Financial Services .
The big taper in 2022 and three rate hikes of 25 bps is negative from a market perspective, but the positive news is that the Fed expects inflation to calm down.
Markets in India are positioned for volatility as the short-term structure of the market is bullish, determined by sustained FII selling. He said that this trend may continue for some more days.
In the previous session, the 30-share equity benchmark ended 329 points or 0.57 per cent lower at 57,788 and the Nifty fell 103.50 points or 0.60 per cent to 17,221.40.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained net sellers in the capital market as they sold shares worth Rs 3,407.04 crore on Wednesday, according to stock exchange data.
Elsewhere in Asia, shares in Shanghai, Tokyo and Seoul were trading with gains in mid-session deals, while Hong Kong was in the red.
Stock exchanges on Wall Street ended the overnight session on a positive note.
Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude rose 0.88 per cent to $74.53 per barrel.
The rupee hit a 20-month low and was at its lowest level since April 28, 2020. The domestic currency opened lower at 76.28 per US dollar against Wednesday’s 76.23 per dollar.
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