Sensex, Nifty come off the day's high; European shares tread cautiously

The benchmark indices came off the day's high in afternoon trade as investors assessed the US Fed?s latest policy decision and its impact on global liquidity. The Nifty traded below the 23,300 level amid cautious sentiment over the stronger dollar and further rate-hike signals.

At 13:27 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex jumped 53.73 points or 0.07% to 74,390.18. The Nifty 50 index added 72.35 points or 0.31% to 23,289.95.

In the broader market, the BSE 150 MidCap Index jumped 0.85% and the BSE 250 SmallCap Index rose 0.72%.

The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 2575 shares rose and 1574 shares fell. A total of 226 shares were unchanged.

Gainers & Losers:

HDFC Life (up 5.37%), SBI Life (up 3.80%), Dr Reddy's Lab (up 2.96%), Bharat Electronics (up 2.55%) and Indigo (up 2.42%) were the top gainers.

ONGC (down 1.64%), Bajaj Auto (down 0.98%), Titan Company (down 0.92%), HDFC Bank (down 0.70%) and Infosys (down 0.62%) were the top losers.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Emami added 3.13%. The company?s board approved a share buyback through the open market at a maximum price of Rs 475 per equity share, aggregating up to Rs 282 crore. The company proposes to buy back up to 59,36,842 equity shares, representing 1.36% of its paid-up equity share capital as of 31 March 2026.

Tata Motors advanced 1.72%. The company announced a price increase of up to 1% on its range of commercial vehicles, effective 1 October 2026.

Precision Wires India was up 0.68%. The company said that it has commenced some trial production of copper cathodes at its copper refining/recycling plant located at Zaroli, Gujarat.

Neogen Chemicals jumped 5.75%. The company has announced the successful completion of qualified institutions placement (QIP) for the equity shares of the company, raising an aggregate of approximately Rs 599.99 crore. Pursuant to the QIP, the company allotted 26,60,753 equity shares of face value Rs 10 each at an issue price of Rs 2,255 per equity share (including a premium of Rs 2,245 per equity share).

Global Markets:

The US Dow Jones futures were up around 287 points on Thursday, pointing to a stronger opening for US equities after Wall Street ended sharply lower in the previous session following the Federal Reserve's policy decision. The Fed raised interest rates for the first time in three years and signalled that another rate hike could come before the end of 2026.

European equities staged a modest advance while Asian equities traded mixed on Thursday as investors assessed the Fed's rate hike and easing crude oil prices.

Oil prices eased on signs that Saudi Arabia was working to restore crude flows following damage to its East-West pipeline. Reports that Saudi Arabia was arranging additional crude shipments via Oman helped reduce immediate concerns about supply disruptions.

The Saudi East-West pipeline, which provides an alternative route for moving crude away from the Persian Gulf, was damaged in a drone attack launched from Iraq, according to reports. Saudi Arabia had shut the pipeline following the attack, raising concerns about further pressure on an already-tight global oil market. The US administration subsequently indicated that operations would resume, easing some of the supply-risk premium in crude prices.

The gains in parts of Asia came after a heavy sell-off on Wall Street on Wednesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 631.21 points, or 1.21%, to 51,461.90, while the S&P 500 declined 0.45%. The Nasdaq Composite was broadly flat.

The Federal Reserve raised its benchmark federal funds target range by 25 basis points to 3.75%-4%, marking its first rate increase since July 2023. The decision reflected the Fed's concern that inflation remains elevated despite resilient economic activity and labour-market conditions. Fed Chair Kevin Warsh said inflation was still too high and that monetary policy would remain focused on preventing higher energy prices from generating broader inflationary effects.

The Fed's updated projections point to another rate increase in 2026. Sixteen of the 19 officials indicated support for at least one further hike this year, while the median projection put the policy rate at 4.1% at the end of 2026. The median forecast also showed the rate remaining at 4.1% in 2027.

The central bank raised its inflation outlook, with the median forecast for headline PCE inflation at 3.7% for 2026, well above its 2% target. Core PCE inflation was projected at 3.4%. At the same time, the Fed raised its 2026 GDP growth forecast to 2.3%, while the median unemployment-rate projection was 4.1%.

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