Investors discount Fed Hawkish stance

Mumbai: Market benchmarks darted up for the second straight session on Thursday, propped up by robust buying in consumption, metal and bank stocks amid a bullish trend overseas. However, a depreciating rupee and foreign fund outflows capped the gains, traders said. The 30-share BSE Sensex rose 427.49 points or 0.80 per cent to close at 54,178.46. The broader NSE Nifty advanced 143.10 points or 0.89 per cent to 16,132.90.

"Domestic bourses mirrored an upbeat mood in global equity markets as investors digested the latest FOMC minutes while falling crude and commodity prices lifted investor sentiments. This upside momentum could dominate the markets in the near-term, underpinned by hopes of reducing inflation. The RBI's latest measures to boost foreign exchange inflows is expected to aid the tumbling rupee," said Vinod Nair, head (research) at Geojit Financial Services.

Ajit Mishra, V-P (research), Religare Broking Ltd, said: "Supportive global cues triggered a gap-up opening in the benchmarks. The recent uptick in the index has certainly eased some pressure but the key is to sustain amid mixed sentiment. Apart from the global markets, the focus will be on IT major TCS results for cues."

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) resumed selling after a day's breather, offloading shares worth a net Rs 330.13 crore on Wednesday, as per exchange data.

In the broader market, the BSE smallcap gauge jumped 1.30 per cent and midcap index went higher by 1.19 per cent. All the BSE sectoral indices ended higher, with metal advancing the most by 4.49 per cent, followed by consumer durables (3.24 per cent), realty (2.55 per cent), basic materials (2.22 per cent), capital goods (2.01 per cent) and industrials (1.73 per cent).