Sensex & Nifty Set to lock gains for fourth straight session; Driven by IT Stocks

About 1,855 stocks are advancing as against 988 stocks that are declining, thus indicating a positive market breadth in the broader market.

Market Update at 2:30 PM: In the current trading session, the benchmark indices extended midday day gains, with the Sensex surging by 1.24 per cent, while Nifty jumped by 1.18 per cent, led by a rise in information technology stocks after the U.S. Federal Reserve maintained its rate-cut projections for the year. Similarly, Nifty Mid-Cap has soared by 0.56 per cent, while Nifty Small-Cap trades higher by 0.62 per cent.

India VIX, which slipped below the 13 mark, was down by 3.3 per cent during the day.

Nifty Oil & Gas, Nifty Auto, and Nifty FMCG are among the Top Gainers, all sectors were trading in green.

Bharti Airtel, Titan and Bajaj Auto are among the top gainers, while Bajaj Finance, IndusInd Bank and Ultra Tech Cement are among the top losing stocks from the Nifty 50.

About 1,855 stocks are advancing as against 988 stocks that are declining, thus indicating a positive market breadth in the broader market.

Market Update at 12:20 PM: The Indian equity benchmark indices opened Thursday’s session on a buoyant note, extending gains in the early hours. As observed, the Federal Reserve maintained its rate-cut forecast for the year, with information technology stocks leading the pack. 

Consequently, by midday, the Nifty 50 had pared over 150 points from its intraday high, trading above the 23,000 mark with gains of 0.72 per cent. Similarly, the Sensex traded off day’s high. The Nifty Bank underperformed the frontline indices, rising by 0.30 per cent. Meanwhile, the India VIX has declined by 2.7 per cent to 13.

The U.S. Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged on Wednesday, in line with expectations, while maintaining its projection for two rate cuts in 2025. However, the timing of these cuts will largely depend on the impact of tariffs on U.S. inflation. A lower interest rate environment in the U.S. tends to weaken the dollar and reduce Treasury yields, making emerging markets like India more attractive to foreign investors. 

Since October, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) have sold Indian equities worth USD 29 billion, driven by concerns over prolonged high U.S. interest rates due to tariffs and slowing domestic earnings growth.

By midday, the top contributors to market gains were Bharti Airtel (+27.34 pts), Infosys (+20.89 pts) and TCS (+15.99 pts). On the other hand, Bajaj Finance (-7.47 pts) and Larsen & Toubro (-3.9 pts) were trading in negative territory.

On Thursday, the Nifty 50 displayed a positive market breadth, with 38 stocks advancing and 12 declining.  Overall, market breadth remained strong, as 1,848 stocks advanced while 882 declined. Both the Nifty Mid-cap 100 and Nifty Small-cap 100 indices gained 0.51 per cent and 0.52 per cent, respectively.

Among the sectoral indices, most indices are trading in the green by the midday session, with Nifty IT (+1.48 per cent) and Nifty Oil & Gas (+1.28 per cent) leading the gains and emerging as the top-performing sectors. On the other hand, the Nifty Finance index was lagging, trading flat.

Market Update at 10:30 AM: Indian benchmark indices opened on a strong note on Thursday, driven by gains in IT stocks after the US Federal Reserve reaffirmed its rate-cut projections for the year despite persistent tariff concerns.

At 10:20 a.m., the Nifty 50 was up 0.54 per cent at 23,031, while the Sensex advanced 0.58 per cent to 75,885. On the sectoral front, 14 out of 17 sectors recorded gains, with Media rising 1.5 per cent. 

The US Federal Reserve maintained interest rates as expected and signaled the possibility of two quarter-point cuts by year-end, in line with its December projections. A lower interest rate environment in the US tends to weaken the dollar and Treasury yields, making emerging markets like India more appealing to foreign investors.

Broader markets saw a marginal decline, with small-cap and mid-cap indices sliding down around 0.14 per cent and 0.08 per cent, respectively.

A gauge of India's information technology companies, which earn a significant share of their revenue from the U.S., gains over 1 per cent, leading benchmark indexes higher

Although Nifty IT gained today, it remains down 15 per cent in 2025 due to concerns over the U.S. growth outlook, reduced client spending, and high valuations.

In today’s trade, India VIX is trading near the 13 mark, down by 1.6 per cent, indicating a decrease in market volatility.

Bharti Airtel, Titan and TCS are among the top gainers, while Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finance and Trent are among the top losing stocks from the Nifty 50.

About 1,702 stocks are advancing as against 973 declining stocks, thus indicating a Positive sentiment in the broader market.

Pre-Market Update at 7:45 AM: Sensex and Nifty 50 are set to open higher on Thursday, tracking a global market rally following the US Federal Reserve’s policy announcement. Asian markets traded in the green, while US indices surged overnight after the Fed’s decision. The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), led by Chair Jerome Powell, kept interest rates unchanged and indicated a potential 50 basis points rate cut later this year.

Gift Nifty was hovering near 23,067, reflecting a premium of approximately 77 points over the previous close of Nifty futures, signalling a higher opening for Indian equity indices.

US markets closed higher on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve maintained interest rates as expected. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 383.32 points (0.92 per cent) to 41,964.63, while the S&P 500 advanced 60.63 points (1.08 per cent) to 5,675.29. The Nasdaq Composite saw the biggest gain, rising 246.67 points (1.41 per cent) to settle at 17,750.79.

The US Federal Reserve kept its benchmark interest rate steady in the 4.25 per cent - 4.50 per cent range and signaled the possibility of two quarter-point rate cuts later this year. Additionally, the central bank revised its inflation forecast for 2025 upward while lowering its economic growth projections. 

Meanwhile, China maintained its benchmark lending rates for the fifth consecutive month, in line with market expectations, with the one-year loan prime rate at 3.1 per cent and the five-year rate at 3.6 per cent, while the 7-day policy rate remained unchanged at 1.5 per cent. 

On the geopolitical front, US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy held a one-hour discussion, described by the White House as “fantastic,” where both leaders emphasized collaboration to resolve the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict. Zelensky expressed gratitude for US support, and it was agreed that technical teams would convene in Saudi Arabia soon.

Asian markets moved higher on Thursday, taking cues from Wall Street’s strong performance overnight after the US Federal Reserve’s policy announcement. With Japan’s markets shut for a holiday, South Korea’s Kospi advanced 0.64 per cent, while the Kosdaq edged up 0.55 per cent. Meanwhile, futures linked to Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index signaled a muted start.

Crude oil prices moved higher following the US Federal Reserve's policy announcement, supported by data indicating strong fuel demand. Brent crude climbed 0.45 per cent to USD 71.10 per barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures edged up 0.22 per cent to USD 67.31.

The dollar was at 103.03, while USD/INR was trading at 86.33.

On March 19, 2025, foreign institutional investors (FII) bought shares worth Rs 1,096.50 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DII) bought shares worth Rs 2,140.76 crore.

Stocks that are banned for trading in the F&O segment on March 20, 2025, are IndusInd Bank, Hindustan Copper, SAIL, etc.

Disclaimer: The article is for informational purposes only and not investment advice.