Market at day's high; Nifty near 18,150; PSU banks rally

The key equity traded near the day's high with modest gains in mid-morning trade. The Nifty traded near the 18,150 mark after hitting day's low of 18,066.70 in early trade. PSU bank stocks witnessed buying demand.

At 11:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 175.59 points or 0.29% to 61,368.89. The Nifty 50 index added 59.80 points or 0.33% to 18,149.65.

The broader market outperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index gained 0.68% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index rose 0.79%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2,208 shares rose and 1,098 shares fell. A total of 134 shares were unchanged.

The Federal Reserve raised its benchmark borrowing rate by widely expected, 25 basis points. The increase takes the fed funds rate to a target range of 5%-5.25%, the highest since August 2007.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty PSU Bank index rose 0.77% to 4,175.05. The index declined 0.98% in the past trading session.

State Bank of India (up 1.6%), Union Bank of India (up 1.32%), Punjab & Sind Bank (up 1.31%), Central Bank of India (up 1.22%), Indian Overseas Bank (up 1.2%), Bank of India (up 1.14%), Bank of Maharashtra (up 1.01%), Punjab National Bank (up 0.86%), Bank of Baroda (up 0.24%) advanced.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Sona BLW Precision Forgings (Sona Comstar) added 0.74%. The company reported a 14.5% rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 119.81 crore on 35.5% surge in revenue from operation to Rs 742.59 crore in Q4 FY23 over Q4 FY22.

Sula Vineyards rose 0.71% after the company's consolidated net profit jumped 4.9% to Rs 14.25 crore on 6.4% increase in revenue from operations to Rs 113.23 crore in Q4 FY23 over Q4 FY22.

Bajaj Consumer Care jumped 6.90% after the company's consolidated net profit rose 12.95% to Rs 40.46 crore on 14.54% rise in net sales to Rs 246.20 crore in Q4 March 2023 over Q4 March 2022.

Global Markets:

Asian stocks traded mixed after the U.S. Federal Reserve hiked rates by 25 basis points as widely expected. Japanese markets are closed for a holiday Thursday.

U.S. stocks ended lower on Wednesday, reversing gains after comments by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell left investors wondering what the U.S. central bank's next move would be with interest rate hikes.

The U.S. Federal Reserve hiked rates by 25 basis points as widely expected, bringing the federal funds rate range to 5%-5.25% ? its highest level since August 2007. The Fed raised rates for a 10th time in this tightening cycle, as was widely expected. The central bank also signaled a pause to the campaign could come.

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