Expect positive opening; Fed leaves rates unchanged
Indian equities indices swung between gains and losses on Wednesday ahead of F&O expiry for the month of April which is due on Thursday. The Sensex closed 57 points higher at 26,064 despite opening in the red, while the Nifty also ended with a gain of 17 points to close at 7,980. On the broader markets front, the BSE Mid-cap index was up 0.13% and Small-cap index advanced 0.28%. On the sectoral front, weakness in heavyweight banking, pharma, power and capital goods stocks capped gains for the benchmark indices.
U.S. stocks were mixed after the close on Wednesday, after the Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged and provided little indication when it would deliver another rate rise. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 51.23 points, or 0.3%, to 18041.55, while the S&P 500 gained 3.45 points, or 0.2%, to 2095.15. The Nasdaq Composite underperformed other indexes, slumping 25.14 points, or 0.5%, to finish at 4,863.14.
Oil prices jumped about 3% on Wednesday, hitting new highs for 2016 as the dollar weakened after the Federal Reserve announced it would leave U.S. interest rates unchanged. WTI crude-oil prices rose 2.9% to USD 45.33 a barrel, climbing above the USD 45 mark for the first time since November and brushing off a surprise jump in crude stockpiles in weekly data from the U.S. Energy Department. The gains boosted shares of energy companies.
European stocks crept higher Wednesday, as investors awaited a US Federal Reserve meeting and digested a raft of company earnings reports. The Stoxx Europe 600 rose 0.3% to end at 348.32, gaining for a second day in a row. Germany’s DAX 30 closed up 0.4% at 10,299.83, and France’s CAC 40 moved up 0.6% to 4,559.40. The U.K’s FTSE 100 rose 0.6% to finish at 6,319.91.
Asian markets rose for the first time in five days ahead of a Bank of Japan monetary policy decision, and after the U.S. Federal Reserve offered few clues on its monetary policy outlook. Japan's Nikkei jumped 1.41%, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index climbed 0.75%, while South Korea’s Kospi index wavered between positive and negative territory before trading down 0.36%. New Zealand’s S&P/NZX 50 Index rose 0.41%. China’s Shanghai composite index advanced 0.18%.
On the domestic front, A SGX Nifty 50 index future for April series traded up by 32 points at 8,022. Indian markets are likely to open upward due to positive global cues. Investors will be keeping an eye on ACC, Ambuja and HCL Tech results due for release today.