Sensex ends 128 pts higher, Nifty above 22,650 mark; midcaps outperform

Fed Chair Jerome Powell late on Wednesday said a rate hike was unlikely, but reiterated that a rate cut would be considered only if inflation in the economy eased further.

HDFC Bank, Power Grid, Asian Paints, TCS, and Tata Motors led the gains on the Sensex, while ICICI Bank, Kotak Bank, Bharti Airtel, and Axis Bank exerted downward pressure on the index. HDFC Bank alone accounted for a 109-point increase in the Sensex.

US rate sensitive, Nifty IT index ended flat after the Fed decision. Higher interest rates have been weighing on India's IT sector, as it leads to in lower client spending in the US, a key market.

Meanwhile, global oil prices fell to a nearly seven-week low overnight, seen as a positive sign for inflation expectations in India, the world's third-largest importer and consumer.

The Nifty Oil & Gas index gained 0.8%. Hindustan Petroleum and Bharat Petroleum, rose 8% and 4.6%, respectively to lead gains in the energy index.

Meanwhile, shares of Kotak Mahindra Bank fell 3%, the top laggard among Sensex constituents after the private lender said that its joint managing director KVS Manian resigned after two months in the role.

Meanwhile, the market capitalisation of all listed companies on BSE surged by Rs 1.98 lakh crore to Rs 408.53 lakh crore. The market breadth was skewed in the favour of the bears. About 1.926 stocks declined, 1,912 gained, and 119 remained unchanged on the BSE.

Experts View
"Benchmark indices saw moderate gains, mirroring global trends after the Fed decided to maintain its interest rate, as widely accepted. The broader market largely traded rangebound, while positive commentary from the auto companies on recent volume numbers led the sector to outperform," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services.

Jatin Gedia, Technical Research Analyst at Sharekhan, said, "On the daily charts we can observe that the Nifty after the sell in the previous trading session has consolidated. 22,700 on the upside remains a crucial resistance, while 22,450 is the crucial support from a short-term perspective. The Nifty is likely to consolidate within this range over the next few trading sessions."

Global Markets
Europe's big bourses made a sluggish start as much of the region returned from a day off, but after a choppy few weeks dealers were just happy the Fed hadn't inflicted any major damage, and that borrowing costs were ticking down again.

Wall Street's S&P 500 futures were up 0.6%, pointing to it recouping the ground it lost late on Wednesday.