Nifty cools after record run, Sensex rises 150 points as investors eye US Fed decision

State-owned companies such as , , , and were among the top gainers from the Nifty50 index.

Additionally, domestically focused smallcap and midcap indices rose by over 1% each.

IT companies, which count the US as a key revenue geography, jumped up to 1.65%.

US headline consumer price inflation is expected to have eased last month, but a stronger-than-expected jobs report has raised the prospect of inflation remaining sticky while growth stays strong.

The likelihood of a Fed rate cut in September has decreased to 56%, down from 78% a week ago. Investors are now closely watching policymakers' updated dot plot and comments for hints on the timing of potential rate cuts.

Among individual stocks, closed 5% higher after the company signed a new five-year strategic contract with Daimler Truck South East Asia Pte for Integrated Supply Chain Solutions (ISCS) service in Singapore.

Meanwhile, the market capitalisation of all listed companies on BSE surged by Rs 2.37 lakh crore to Rs 429.31 lakh crore. The market breadth was skewed in the favour of the bulls. About 2,554 stocks gained, 1,338 declined, and 99 remained unchanged on the BSE.

Expert Views

"The consensus indicates expectations of stable US inflation, but the trajectory of potential rate cuts holds significant importance for future direction, as rate cut expectations have tempered to 2 from 3 earlier. The domestic market is trading at a new high on expectations of a final Budget with a focus on growth, which was amplified by the RBI's upgrade in GDP growth forecast," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, .

Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities, said, "The Nifty closed flat after a strong initial hour of trading, encountering resistance around 23,400. However, the short-term trend remains positive as the index stayed above 23,300. In the near term, the index might continue consolidating within the 23,300-23,500 range. A decisive breakout above 23,500 could trigger a rally towards 23,800."

Global Markets

Global stocks rose on Wednesday, helped by positive sentiment in the technology sector, ahead of a key US inflation report and Federal Reserve policy decision that could determine the near-term outlook for interest rates.

The MSCI All-World index rose 0.14% on the day. In Europe, the STOXX 600 gained 0.6%, rising for the first time in four days. US stock futures were up 0.1%, indicating a modestly stronger start on Wall Street later.

On the Asian markets, Chinese blue chips ended the day mostly steady, as still-soft price data failed to lift sentiment much. Data showed on Wednesday that China's consumer prices fell 0.1% in May from a month earlier, missing forecasts. On an annual basis, they rose 0.3%.

Crude Oil

Oil prices ticked higher on Wednesday after three key forecasters predicted that global oil inventories would fall in the second half of 2024, boosting prices.

Brent crude futures were up 76 cents, or 0.9%, to $82.68 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were up 86 cents, or 1.1%, to $78.76. Both contracts rose by $1 or more earlier in the session.

Rupee Ends Flat

The Indian rupee closed nearly flat on Wednesday even as dollar demand from local oil companies and other importers put pressure on the currency but likely intervention from the Reserve Bank of India helped avert a drop towards its all-time low.

The rupee ended at 83.5450 against the U.S. dollar, little changed from its previous close at 83.5650. The currency had hit its all-time low of 83.5750 on April 19.

(With inputs from agencies)