Mumbai, April 29 (ANI): Equity benchmark indices were in the positive terrain during early hours on Wednesday as Asian markets treaded cautiously ahead of the US Federal Reserve policy decision.
Oil prices, meanwhile, jumped on hopes that demand will pick up as many countries lift some of the coronavirus-related restrictions. At 10:15 am, the BSE S&P Sensex was up by 268 points or 0.83 per cent at 32,383 while the Nifty 50 edged higher by 82 points or 0.88 per cent at 9,463.
All sectoral indices at the National Stock Exchange were in the green with Nifty metal up by 2.2 per cent, realty by 1.3 per cent and PSU bank by 1.2 per cent.
Among stocks, home loan lender HDFC moved up by 4.1 per cent at Rs 1,786.50 per share while Bajaj Finance gained by 3.8 per cent. Metal majors JSW Steel, Hindalco and Vedanta ticked up by 2.9 per cent, 2.8 per cent and 2 per cent respectively.
The other prominent winners were Bajaj Finserv, GAIL, HDFC Bank and Tech Mahindra. However, Axis Bank fell by 4.6 per cent after reporting a net loss of Rs 1,388 crore for the quarter ended March 31 due to higher provisioning amid the coronavirus pandemic.
IndusInd Bank too lost by 2.8 per cent after it reported 77 per cent sequential decline in standalone net profit at Rs 302 crore during the quarter ended March.
Hindustan Lever, Bharat Petroleum Corporation and Titan traded with a negative bias.
Meanwhile, Asian shares were cautiously higher as investors awaited the US Federal Reserve’s policy decision. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan added 0.2 per cent for its third straight day of gains.
Japan’s markets were closed for a public holiday but South Korean shares rose by 0.3 per cent. While the US Federal Reserve is due to issue a policy statement at the close of its two-day meeting later on Wednesday, the European Central Bank meets on Thursday.
Some experts said it is unlikely the Fed will make further major policy moves, given the scope and depth of its efforts to counter economic damage caused by the coronavirus.
