Indian shares advance on IT boost after Fed rate cut

Indian shares climbed on Thursday, supported by information technology stocks, after the U.S. Federal Reserve cut interest rates by a quarter point, as expected, to bolster the labour market in the world’s largest economy.

The Nifty 50 was up 0.36% at 25,420.85, as of 09:51 a.m. IST, and the BSE Sensex rose 0.42% to 83,048.35.

Fourteen of the 16 major sectors logged gains.

The IT sector, which earns a significant share of its revenue from the United States, climbed as much as 1.3%.

The broader small-caps and mid-caps indexes added about 0.4% each.

The U.S. Fed lowered rates on Wednesday for the first time this year but signalled a measured approach to further monetary policy easing, leaving investors in doubt about the pace of future moves.

Still, lower U.S. interest rates make emerging markets such as India attractive to foreign portfolio investors (FPIs).

“Markets are cheering the rate cut as lower borrowing costs ease pressure on businesses in the US, which is a positive for sectors exposed to the world’s largest economy,” said Ross Maxwell, global strategy lead at VT Markets.

In addition to lower borrowing costs, the Fed’s policy shift signals a softer dollar, making Indian assets more attractive to global investors and supporting continued FII inflows, according to two analysts.

Among individual stocks, MOIL rose 2.1% on Thursday after the company made its first manganese ore export to Indonesia, expanding its global footprint.

Shares of Cochin Shipyard climbed 2% after the company secured a 2-billion-rupee ($22.74 million) contract from state-owned energy explorer ONGC.

Avenue Supermarts rose 2% after UBS reiterated “buy” and raised the stock’s target price, citing benefits from value retailing, pricing edge and network expansion.

Cohance Lifesciences lost 5% on report of Jusmiral Holdings selling up to 5.1% stake in the company at a discount to the stock’s last close.