By Bharath Rajeswaran
(Reuters) -India’s benchmark indexes rose on Wednesday, as information technology stocks tracked a rebound in global peers, with investors shifting focus to the U.S. Federal Reserve’s comments on interest rates.
The Nifty 50 gained 0.9% to 23,163.1, while the BSE Sensex added 0.83% to 76,532.96.
The small-caps and mid-caps gained 3.3% and 2.3% respectively, snapping a three-session losing run.
Among sectors, IT stocks advanced about 2.6% after falling 4% in the last two sessions. Technology stocks climbed globally as worries about the threat of a new low-cost Chinese AI model ebbed. [MKTS/GLOB]
Meanwhile, the Fed is widely expected to hold interest rates at the end of its meeting later today. The focus, however, is on the central bank’s comments for cues on the trajectory of monetary policy, which, from the point of view of emerging markets, is crucial as it could influence foreign flows.
“The recent correction has made the large-caps attractive, triggering some temporary buying interest,” said Samrat Dasgupta, CEO of Esquire Capital Investment Advisors.
The Nifty and Sensex are down about 11.5% each from record high levels hit on Sept. 27 and are on course for their longest monthly losing streak in 23 years, hit by earnings worries and economic growth concerns.
Financials, which have the highest weightage among all sectors, climbed 1.1%, taking their two-session gains to 3% since the central bank announced a slew of measures to inject liquidity into the banking system.
The auto index advanced 1.5%. Bajaj Auto rose 2.7%, while TVS Motor jumped 5.5% after they reported higher quarterly profits and forecast healthy demand and export growth.
Maruti Suzuki declined 1.2% after its quarterly profit fell short of market estimates due to bigger discounts.
Non-bank lender Bajaj Finance rose 2%, while automaker Tata Motor gained 3.3%, ahead of their quarterly results due after market hours.
(Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips, Savio D’Souza and Eileen Soreng)
