Sensex, Nifty open sharply higher over positive global cues
The benchmark BSE Sensex was up 194.69 points or 0.59 per cent at 33,191.45, and the 50-share NSE Nifty gained 57.50 points or 0.57 per cent at 10,181.90.
Key indices on Wednesday opened higher tracking the positive global cues. The benchmark BSE Sensex was up 194.69 points or 0.59 per cent at 33,191.45, and the 50-share NSE Nifty gained 57.50 points or 0.57 per cent at 10,181.90.
Among the top gainers were BEML, Ashok Buildcon, LT Foods, KRBL, KPIT Technologies, Canara Bank, United Bank of India, IDBI Bank, Andhra Bank, Allahabad Bank and Max Financial, the shares of respective firms gained up to 5 per cent.
Meanwhile, a hush settled over financial markets on Wednesday as investors anticipated a quarter point hike in the Federal Reserve's policy rate and awaited guidance on how many more to expect this year, while trade war fears kept export nations' currencies on edge.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan added 0.4 per cent after four straight days of losses, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street.
Chinese shares were buoyant with Hong Kong's Hang Seng index gaining 1.3 per cent. Australian and Korean stocks were up marginally.
The market is convinced the Fed will announce a quarter point hike at 1800 GMT, but are less sure if it will signal three or four for the year as a whole.
"A significant weighting towards four hikes this year may well cause both equity and bond markets to sell off," Jonathan Sheridan, analyst at FIIG Securities in Sydney, said.
"The concerns here are that the Fed overshoots with raising rates into a faltering economy," Sheridan added.
"If this opinion takes hold then we may well see falling longer term rates and a flatter yield curve, and it would also be negative for equities as it increases the chances of a recession."
The Fed has raised rates five times since it began tightening policy in late 2015. Yet the dollar has not really responded, ending 2017 down about 10 percent against a basket of currencies.
Another major overhang for financial markets is the spectre of a global trade war.
US President Donald Trump is expected to unveil up to $60 billion in import duties on Chinese goods by Friday. The move comes after Trump imposed tariffs on imported steel and aluminium earlier this month.
Investors are worried Trump's actions could escalate into a full-blown trade war if China and other countries retaliate with similar or harsher measures, threatening global growth.