Market benchmarks climb in early trade on foreign fund inflows; Rupee falls against dollar

Stock markets: Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty climbed in early trade on Wednesday helped by fresh foreign fund inflows and rally in the US markets. The 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 270.39 points to 66,626.10. The broader NSE Nifty advanced 69 points to 19,748.85.

From the Sensex pack, Larsen & Toubro jumped 4 per cent and Tata Motors climbed nearly 2 per cent. ITC, Sun Pharma, Reliance Industries and Power Grid were the other major gainers.

Infrastructure major Larsen and Toubro (L&T) on Tuesday posted a 36 per cent rise in net profit to Rs 3,116.12 crore for the June quarter, mainly aided by the execution of a healthy order book in its projects and manufacturing portfolio. Tata Motors reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 3,300.65 crore for the quarter, riding on sharp improvements in the performance of its British arm Jaguar Land Rover and commercial vehicles business.

From the 30-share club, HDFC Bank and Asian Paints were the laggards. In Asian markets, Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong were trading lower. The US markets ended in positive territory on Tuesday.

“Globally, market participants will be closely watching the Fed chief Jerome Powell’s comments about the disinflation process in the US and the likely trend in interest rates.

A 25 basis points rate hike, already discounted by the market, will not trigger any market move.

“But if the Fed chief indicates that inflation is coming under control and, therefore, no further rate hikes are needed, that will be a big trigger for markets to move up.

But such an outcome is highly unlikely since the Fed will play it safe even if inflation is coming under control,” said VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services.

Meanwhile, global oil benchmark Brent crude was trading 0.42 per cent lower at USD 83.29 a barrel. Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were buyers on Tuesday as they bought equities worth Rs 1,088.76 crore, according to exchange data. The Sensex had slipped 29.07 points or 0.04 per cent to settle at 66,355.71 on Tuesday. The Nifty inched up by 8.25 points or 0.04 per cent to end at 19,680.60.

ALSO READ: Market benchmarks open on flat note in early trade; Rupee rises against dollar

Rupee falls against dollar

The rupee depreciated 7 paise to 81.95 against the US dollar in early trade on Wednesday, tracking elevated levels of the American currency against major rivals overseas as well as higher crude prices.

Crude oil prices hovering above USD 83 per barrel and cautious move by investors ahead of the US Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision later in the day weighed on the domestic unit, even as robust sentiment in the domestic market capped the fall, forex traders said.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened at 81.89. It touched the peak of 81.87 and hit the lowest level of 81.96 before trading at 81.95 against the greenback, registering a fall of 7 paise from its previous close. On Tuesday, the rupee had settled at 81.88 against the dollar.

(With PTI inputs)

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