Business

Indian Stock Market Opens Flat As US Fed Pauses Rate Cut Cycle

The domestic benchmark indices opened flat on Thursday as the US Federal Reserve meeting voted unanimously to pause the rate cut cycle, which started last September and has delivered 100 bps of cut to date.

The Sensex was marginally up 49 points or 0.065 percent at 76,582.44, and the Nifty was up 43 points or 0.18 percent at 23,197.20. About 1,539 shares advanced, 701 shares declined and 128 shares unchanged.

The FOMC in the US paused rates at 4.25-4.5 percent. Fed has promised to be data dependent, promising the markets that it is not on a “preset course”.

“Additionally, it has continued to reduce its holdings of treasury securities, agency-backed debt, and mortgage-backed securities. In line with expectations, the policy was largely a non-event,” said Ankita Pathak, Chief Macro and Global Strategist at Ionic Wealth by Angel One.

US markets are closely watching the Chinese AI evolution and that is becoming a bigger driver of heavyweights like tech. According to Dhawal Ghanshyam Dhanani, Fund Manager, SAMCO Mutual Fund, with inflation still elevated and labor market conditions solid, the “Fed Pivot” has come to a standstill.

“This certainly gives the impression that FOMC wants to buy time to assess and digest the impact of the current administration’s policies on tariffs, tax cuts, deregulation, and the like,” said Dhanani.

Meanwhile, Bajaj Finance, Bharti Airtel, Bajaj Finserve, Maruti Suzuki India and Hindustan Unilever added to the Nifty 50 index, while Tata Motors, Infosys, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, and Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd. weighed on the Nifty 50.

On the NSE, nine sectors advanced and three declined out of 12. The NSE Nifty Realty rose the most, and the NSE Nifty Auto declined the most.

On January 29, the foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained net sellers for the 19th consecutive session as they sold equities worth Rs 2,586 crore, while domestic institutional investors bought equities worth Rs 1,792.71 crore on the same day.

“Ahead of the Union Budget, there was a spike in some fertilizer and railway stocks, and today’s movement will show if this is just a one-day trend or the start of something new,” said market experts.

Also Read: Mukesh Ambani Hails PM Modi’s Leadership At PDEU Convocation; Praises His Relentless Pursuit Of Progress

IANS

Recent Posts

Pakistan’s Digital Frontline: Jokes, Memes And Savage Self-Roasts

While tensions between India and Pakistan escalate post the tragic Pahalgam terror attack, something unexpected…

4 hours ago

Reliance Industries Q4 Net Profit Rises 6.4% As Retail And Digital Units Offset Energy Weakness

Reliance Industries delivered a strong Q4 FY25 performance, with Y-o-Y net profit rising 6.4% to…

4 hours ago

Yash Pratap Singh And Mehak Jaiswal Top UP Board Exams With Outstanding Scores

Yash Pratap Singh of Jalaun tops Class 10 with 97.83%, while Prayagraj’s Mehak Jaiswal secures…

4 hours ago

Yogi Adityanath Calls For Reforms To Make Madrasa Education Modern And Employment-Oriented

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday emphasised the need for sweeping reforms in the madrasa…

5 hours ago

Tulsi Gabbard Backs India’s Hunt For Pahalgam Terror Attack Perpetrators

United States Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Tulsi Gabbard on Friday expressed strong support for…

6 hours ago

World Leaders Head To Rome For funeral Of Pope Francis

Indian President Droupadi Murmu will also attend, representing India alongside Union Minister Kiren Rijiju, Minister…

7 hours ago