Sensex, Nifty scale fresh peaks after Federal Reserve slashes interest rates

Mumbai, Sep 19 (PTI) Benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty surged to their fresh record high levels in early trade on Thursday after the US Federal Reserve cut its benchmark interest rate after more than four years.

The 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 735.95 points to scale a new all-time high of 83,684.18 in early trade. The NSE Nifty also surged 209.55 points to hit a fresh record peak of 25,587.10.

"The big Fed rate cut by 50 bps has the potential to take equity markets into a consolidation phase with an upward bias. The rate cuts by the Fed will pave the way for rate cuts in India, too," said V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services.

More rate cuts are expected from the Fed, going forward, Vijayakumar added.

From the 30 Sensex firms, NTPC, Axis Bank, Tata Motors, Tata Consultancy Services, Bharti Airtel, Tech Mahindra, Infosys and HDFC Bank were the biggest gainers.

Bajaj Finserv emerged as the only laggard from the pack.

In Asian markets, Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong rallied while Seoul quoted marginally lower.

The US markets ended lower on Wednesday.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 1,153.69 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data.

"The 50 bps rate cut is a bold stance by the US Fed to revitalise their subdued economy, which will in turn open the door for other global central banks, including RBI to kick-start the softer interest rate regime," Vijay Bharadia, Founder, Wallfort Financial Services Ltd, said.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude dipped 0.07 per cent to USD 73.60 a barrel.

The BSE benchmark dropped 131.43 points or 0.16 per cent to settle at 82,948.23 on Wednesday. The NSE Nifty also declined 41 points or 0.16 per cent to close at 25,377.55. PTI