Indian shares rise after Fed holds rates steady; earnings-led gains boost optimism

Indian shares rose on Thursday, rebounding from a recent drop, as the US Federal Reserve held interest rates steady as expected and upbeat quarterly earnings lifted the benchmark indexes.

The benchmark Nifty 50 rose 1.1% to 22,936.75 and the BSE Sensex added 1.2% to 74,151.04. The indexes had lost about 2% each in the previous seven sessions, dropping in six of them, weighed down by elevated crude oil prices.

Elsewhere, Asian shares wobbled as AI-related earnings announcements prompted wildly mixed responses.

The Fed left interest rates unchangedon Wednesday, opting to delay any changes to borrowing costs until after next week’s US midterm elections while it awaits further data on inflation, which it said “remains elevated.”

Brent crude futures fell 0.8% to $114.4 per barrel, as traders weighed Middle East conflict risks to regional energy supplies.

“Indian market is showing signs that it has bottomed out after the recent slide and the ongoing earnings season has been decent across sectors, supporting the broader sentiment,” said Arun Malhotra, fund manager at CapGrow Capital.

Fifteen of the 16 major sectors rose. The broader small-caps and mid-caps added 1% each.

Heavyweight financials and information technology stocks rose 1.2% and 1%, respectively.

Stock-specific moves dominated the sentiment amid a busy earnings season. Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone and Adani Enterprises were the top two percentage gainers on the Nifty 50 after their earnings.

Adani Ports rose 6.3% to nearly four-month high after it reported higher quarterly profit on strong cargo volumes and raised its operating profit forecast.

Adani Enterprises also added 5.2% after strong July-September earnings, while consumer goods major Hindustan Unilever rose 2.3% as investors weighed higher quarterly profit against commodity inflation.

Power sector companies Power Grid Corporation of India and NTPC jumped 3.4% and 2.2% on optimism over strong power demand due to El-Nino conditions.