Domestic stocks got off to a flier after US Fed meet

Domestic stocks got off to a flier on Friday after the US Federal Reserve held back raising rates in the world's largest economy, saying the conditions were less than satisfactory for the much feared increase.

Global markets and asset classes have been in turmoil over the past month ahead of the US Fed's Sept 17th meeting which was widely anticipated to raise rates from near zero after more than 9 years. The sharp economic downturn in China and weak global growth scenario were among the reasons cited by Fed Chair Janet Yellen for holding back the expected rise. The Federal Reserve has now pushed the decision to its meeting in December. The reaction to the rate pause was muted on Wall Street and in Asia.

However, the Nifty surged 105 points to 8,004 in early deals on Friday as the Fed overhang eased. Traders ramped up the entire market in anticipation of a return in foreign inflows, which have been negative for more than a month. Banks lead the rally on the Nifty. Axis Bank, Bank of Baroda, Lupin, ICICI and State Bank of India were the top five gainers. On the losers side were Tata Motors, Cairn, GAIL, Bajaj Auto and Hindustan Unilever. The Advance-Decline was a strong 44/6 on the Nifty, which reclaimed the 8,000-point mark for the first time since August 31st.

SKS Micro, Tata Motors and Axis Bank were the top three traded stocks on National Stock Exchange.

The mood was equally festive in the broader markets where the CNX 100, CNX 200 and CNX 500 indices gained more than a percent each. the Small Cap and the Mid Cap Indices were in a strong uptrend as well. All sectoral indices posted gains. The Bank Nifty lead the charge with a massive 2.3 percent rise and with all 12 constituents gaining ground. The CNX PSU Bank Index rose 2.7 percent and the CNX Finance index was up 2.1 percent.

The Sensex on the Bombay Stock Exchange quoted 341 points higher at 26,304 with 25 shares gaining compared with just 5 that slipped. Axis Bank, Wipro, Vedanta, Tata Steel and Maruti posted smart gains while Tata Motors and GAIL slipped in trade.

Tata Motors, SBI and Axis Bank were the top traded counters on the Sensex. The bulls enjoyed their outing on Dalal Street with 1,290 shares advancing compared with 309 that fell.

The sentiment was bullish in the derivatives space with Banks hogging the gainers list. Amtek Auto, Bajaj Finance and DHFL slipped in trade. Stocks that traded higher stood at 141 versus 20 that fell.

A strong set of stocks made it to the top volume buzzers list. Future Consumer Enterprise, ENIL, CMC, Blue Dart and Aptech Ltd. were among the notables on the list.


(Image credits: Indiatimes)