As Asian markets did an about-turn on Thursday morning, Indian equities followed suit.
The benchmark Sensex moved up steadily through the trading session, gaining 516 points (2.01 per cent), to close at 26,231.19. The Nifty gained by a similar amount, rising 157 points to close at 7,948.95, with metal, commodity and pharmaceutical stocks leading the charge.
This was despite foreign institutions continued selling equities for a net amount of ₹3,347 crore. Domestic institutions were net buyers of ₹2,577 crore of securities. Retail investors sold ₹23.73 crore of net equity on the BSE. Domestic traders bought equity to cover their short positions on the August F&O expiry day.
Another positive was a senior official at the Federal Reserve indicating that a case for the US raising lending rates looked “less compelling” in view of global growth concerns.
On this count, major Asian indices did one better than Indian bourses. The Shanghai Composite, responsible for Monday’s heartburn, gained 5.34 per cent while the Hang Seng gained 3.60 per cent. Japan, South Korea and Singapore were already in the green when the Indian market opened in the morning.
Anand James, Co-Head, Technical Research Desk, Geojit BNP Paribas, said: “With global central bank chiefs meeting soon in Jackson Hole, for the Federal Reserve’s annual retreat, it would mean that markets are gearing up for fresh cues that could set the tone for the next week.”