Benchmark indices reversed the trend and closed higher amid strong opening in European markets on Thursday. After a volatile trading session amid November series expiry day, Sensex ended 431 points higher at 44,259 and Nifty gained 128 points to 12,987. Yesterday, Sensex ended 694 points lower at 43,828 and Nifty fell by 196 points to 12,858.
On the domestic front, markets were trading volatile as traders roll over positions in the F&O segment from the near month November series to December series. Among sectors, there was a sharp rebound in banking, financial services, and insurance (BFSI) stocks and metals. Bajaj Auto, M&M, L&T, HDFC, Bharti Airtel, Sun Pharma, UltraTech Cement, Titan and Tata Steel were among the top gainers on the Sensex pack. On the other hand, IndusInd Bank, Infosys, Maruti, and ONGC were among the laggards.
US financial markets will be closed on Thursday for the Thanksgiving holiday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 index closed lower on Wednesday as mounting US layoffs in the wake of newly mandated lockdowns to contain surging COVID-19 infections dampened investors' risk appetite.
Asian stocks were trading mixed on Thursday as investors reacted to minutes released overnight from the U.S. Federal Reserve's November meeting. The summary of the Fed meeting from earlier this month indicated that U.S. central bank officials discussed ways of getting more money into the economy, which was still recovering from the coronavirus pandemic.
The Bank of Korea held steady on its key policy rate at a record low of 0.5%.
After a record-setting rally earlier in the week set off by news of the development of coronavirus vaccines, global markets took a pause amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, and a batch of discouraging data on the US economy, including jobless numbers. The number of Americans seeking unemployment aid jumped last week to the highest level in more than a month
Ajit Mishra, VP-Research, Religare Broking said,"Markets made a smart comeback and posted gains of over a percent. This rebound indicates that bulls are in control however the possibility of consolidation is still high and it would be healthy for the markets. In the near term, markets would continue to take cues from their global peers. On the domestic front, India's GDP data outcome schedule on 27th November will be on the radar. We reiterate our view to focus more on the selection of stocks during this consolidation phase and continue with the "buy on dips" approach."
Manish Hathiramani, proprietary index trader and technical analyst, Deen Dayal Investments said," The support of 12800 worked very well and the Nifty bounced swiftly to close above 12900. If we can get past 13050, we will be on our way to hit 13200. As long as 12800 does not break we could utilise all dips to buy into this strong upside rally."
On the currency front, the Indian rupee closed 3 paise higher at 73.88 per dollar, tracking positive domestic equities and sustained foreign fund inflows.
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