Nifty, Sensex Hover Near Record Highs Ahead Of Fed Meet: Midday Market Update

India's benchmark indices advanced marginally to hover near life highs on Tuesday led by financial stocks, as the US Federal Reserve gears up to begin its rate decision meeting.

At 11:35 a.m., the NSE Nifty 50 was trading 28 points, or 0.11% higher at 25,411, and the S&P BSE Sensex was up 62 points, or 0.09%, at 83,062. Both Nifty and Sensex rose as much as 0.13% and 0.17% during early trade on Tuesday.

The US central bank will begin its two-day meeting starting Tuesday, while traders and economists remain captivated by how much the Fed will pivot. Fed funds futures traders on Tuesday priced in a 62% probability of a 50 basis-point cut, up from 47% last Friday.

Goldman Sachs initiated coverage on Ola Electric Mobility Ltd. with a 'buy' rating and a target price of Rs 160 per share, implying a potential upside of 50%. As of August 2024, Ola Electric holds a 32% market share in India’s fast-growing electric two-wheeler market.

Globally, equity markets were flat yesterday, signalling a wait-and-watch mood in anticipation of the Fed rate action tomorrow, according to V K Vijayakumar, chief investment strategist, Geojit Financial Services Ltd. "Banking stocks have been exhibiting strength recently and there are signs of accumulation in these attractively valued segments."

On the level-specific front, 25,500-25,600 is anticipated to provide some resilience to the bullish sentiment in the upcoming period, according to Sameet Chavan, head of research, technical and derivative, Angel One Ltd. "In the interim, any downward movement towards 25,300-25,200 is expected to act as a buffer."

Shares of Bharti Airtel Ltd., ICICI Bank Ltd., Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd., Hero MotoCorp Ltd., and Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. were positively contributing to the changes in the Nifty 50.

While those of Tata Motors Ltd., HDFC Bank Ltd., ITC Ltd., Maruti Suzuki India Ltd., and Power Grid Corp. were negatively contributing to the changes.

On NSE, seven of the 12 sectors declined, with Nifty Media and PSU Bank falling the most during the session. Nifty IT advanced the most.

Broader markets underperformed the benchmark indices, with the Midcap and Smallcap trading 0.02% and 0.4% lower, respectively, through midday on Tuesday.

On BSE, six of the 20 sectors declined, with BSE Services and Industrials leading the decline.

Around 1,575 stocks rose, 2,202 stocks declined, and 135 remained unchanged on the BSE.