The BSE Sensex ended at 57,919.97, up 684.64 points or 1.20% from the previous close. The Nifty gained 171.35 points or 1.01% to end the day at 17,185.70. Benchmark indices had surged as much as 2% earlier in the day.
US markets rose 1.5-2% on Thursday, making a strong recovery from the 2-3% losses earlier in the session, despite the US consumer price index jumping 8.2% last month against expectations of an 8.1% year-on-year increase. That meant consumer inflation remained above 8% for the seventh straight month in September, raising expectations for another round of aggressive interest rate increases by the US Federal Reserve in November. On Friday, US markets surrendered early gains. At the time of going to press, Dow Jones had slipped 0.65%, S&P 500 was quoting 1.5% lower while NASDAQ declined more than 2%.
“Nobody is able to justify the real catalyst for the sharp rebound,” said Abhilash Pagaria, head, alternative and quantitative research, Nuvama Institutional Equities (previously
Institutional Equities).
FPI Net Sellers Again
“It may become difficult for the Nifty to break above 17,400-17,500 levels. Despite the continuous inflows by domestic institutions and retail investors, Indian markets may not see any sustained confidence until it witnesses continuous buying by FIIs,” Pagaria said.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) net sold shares worth Rs 1,011.23 crore and trimmed their bearish bets running into the weekend, as per provisional data from the stock exchanges. Their domestic counterparts featured as net buyers to the tune of Rs 1,624.13 crore, data showed.
“Today’s market is not the one you buy but any substantial fall in the near term could be an opportunity to acquire quality stocks,” said Nischal Maheshwari, CEO, institutional equities, Centrum Broking. “The markets are still hopeful the US Federal Reserve may not aggressively increase rates going forward because the Fed’s policy decisions have been largely based on lag indicators rather than lead indicators.”
Key Asian averages surged 1.5-3.5%, tracking dramatic moves in the US markets Thursday with Japan’s Nikkei 225 index closing up 3.25% as it looks to regain lost ground after a sharp 10% selloff in late September.
In Europe, key indices across the UK, Germany and France were up 0.1-0.9%. The Stoxx 600 pan-European benchmark closed up 0.66%. Back home, 20 out of 30 Sensex companies ended in the green. Banking, financial services, and information technology stocks led the list of gainers.
