Markets rally for 2nd day; Gold jumps Rs 592

Benchmark indices rallied on Thursday with the Sensex and Nifty climbing nearly 2 per cent, helped by heavy buying in Bajaj Finance shares amid a mixed trend in the global equity markets.

The 30-share BSE benchmark jumped 1,041.47 points or 1.87 per cent to settle at 56,857.79. During the day, it rallied 1,097.9 points or 1.96 per cent to 56,914.22.

The broader NSE Nifty advanced 287.80 points or 1.73 per cent to 16,929.60.

Among the Sensex constituents, Bajaj Finance rallied the most by 10.68 per cent, followed by Bajaj Finserv that jumped 10.14 per cent after encouraging June quarter earnings.

The other gainers were Tata Steel, Kotak Mahindra Bank, IndusInd Bank, Infosys, Tech Mahindra and Nestle.

On the other hand, Bharti Airtel, UltraTech Cement, Dr Reddy's, ITC and Sun Pharma were the laggards.

In Asia, markets in Seoul, Shanghai and Tokyo ended higher, while Hong Kong settled in the red.

Markets in Europe were trading lower during mid-session deals. The US markets had ended sharply higher on Wednesday.

"Positive cues from global markets following the Fed policy outcome, as well as domestic large caps' upbeat earnings, drove the market rally. The Fed's decision was as expected, while their positive comment dismissing the possibility of a recession and hinting at a slower pace of rate hikes in the coming months boosted global sentiments," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 1.36 per cent to USD 108.1 per barrel.

Foreign institutional investors were net sellers in the capital markets as they offloaded shares worth Rs 436.81 crore on Wednesday, as per exchange data.

Gold jumps Rs 592; silver rallies Rs 1,335

Gold in the national capital on Thursday jumped Rs 592 to Rs 51,750 per 10 grams, amid a rally in international precious metal prices, according to HDFC Securities.

In the previous trade, the yellow metal finished at Rs 51,158 per 10 grams.

Silver also surged by Rs 1,335 to Rs 56,937 per kg from Rs 55,602 per kg in the previous trade.

In the international market, gold was trading higher at USD 1,747 per ounce while silver was flat at USD 19.38 per ounce.

"Gold prices rallied after US Federal Reserve hiked key interest rates by 75 bps in line with market expectations," said Tapan Patel, Senior Analyst (Commodities) at HDFC Securities.

Rupee rises 26 paise to close at 79.65 against US dollar

The rupee appreciated 26 paise to close at 79.65 (provisional) against the US dollar on Thursday, tracking a firm trend in the domestic equities.

At the interbank forex market, the local unit opened at 79.80 against the greenback and finally settled at 79.65 (provisional), registering a rise of 26 paise over its previous close.

During the session, the local unit witnessed an intra-day high of 79.64 and a low of 79.85 against the American currency.

On Wednesday, the rupee declined 13 paise to close at 79.91 against the US dollar.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was up 0.12 per cent at 106.58.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, rose 1.37 per cent to USD 108.08 per barrel.

"Rupee traded positive on the back of positive capital markets and negative dollar reaction after Fed's 0.75 bps hike with a data-driven further stance from Fed chair Powell," said Jateen Trivedi, VP Research Analyst at LKP Securities.

Trivedi further said that "higher crude prices kept gains limited in rupee. Going ahead route can be seen in the range of 79.50-79.95".

On the domestic equity market front, the BSE Sensex ended 1,041.47 points or 1.87 per cent higher at 56,857.79, while the broader NSE Nifty jumped 287.80 points or 1.73 per cent to 16,929.60.

Foreign institutional investors remained net sellers in the capital market on Wednesday, offloading shares worth Rs 436.81 crore, as per exchange data.