Sensex rises over 200 pts, Nifty above 24,350 in hopes of dovish stance from Fed

The odds of a 25-basis-points U.S. rate cut in September have risen to about 74% from 60% a week ago, helped by recent soft inflation and labour market readings, according to CME FedWatch.

From the Sensex pack, , M&M, Titan, , L&T, , and opened with gains, while , , , UltraTech Cements, and opened with cuts.

On the sectoral front, Auto, Media, and Consumer Durables opened over 1% higher each. Nifty Bank, Financial Services, FMCG, Metal, Pharma, and Healthcare also opened higher.

Among individual stocks, Century Textiles & Industries rose 4% in early trade as the firm to consider raising funds of up to Rs 1,000 crore.

shares dropped 4% after the company has set the floor price of its qualified institutional placement (QIP) at Rs 689.47 per equity share.

Experts View
"It appears that the market is waiting for triggers for a breakout from the present levels. This trigger may come from the Q1 results starting this week. If the management commentaries from the IT majors are positive, that can trigger an up move led by IT stocks," said V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, .

"Another trigger for a breakout can come from the Budget to be presented on 23rd of this month. Since the economy is in a sweet spot the finance minister is in a position to offer relief to the middle class through income tax reliefs while simultaneously moving firmly on the path of fiscal consolidation," Vijayakumar said.

Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research at HDFC Securities, said, "Nifty could stay in the 24164-24401 band for the near term."

Global Markets
Japan's Nikkei hit a record high on Tuesday, while investors elsewhere waited anxiously to see if Federal Reserve Chair would sound supportive of rate cuts after evidence the U.S. labour market is cooling.

Europe is set for a lower open, with EUROSTOXX 50 futures off 0.3% and FTSE flat. S&P 500 futures gained 0.2% and Nasdaq futures firmed 0.3%, after Wall Street equities inched higher to close at record highs on Monday.

Taiwanese shares also hit a record high before running into profit-taking and were last down 0.3%. Chinese blue chips edged 0.1% higher and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index lost 0.3%.

FII/DII Tracker
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 60.98 crore on Monday, while domestic institutional investors turned net buyers as they bought equities worth Rs 2,866 crore.

Crude Oil
Oil prices slipped on Tuesday, extending losses from the previous session, after a hurricane that hit a key U.S. oil-producing hub in Texas caused less damage than markets had expected, easing supply concerns.

Brent futures fell 22 cents to $85.53 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell 24 cents to $82.09.

Currency Watch
The Indian rupee trades flat at 83.5 against the US dollar in early trade. The dollar index, which tracks the movement of the greenback against a basket of six major world currencies, increased 0.02% to 105.02 level.

(With inputs from agencies)
(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of Economic Times)