The Indian stock market ended marginally higher on Thursday as investors took the widely anticipated interest rate hike by the US Federal Reserve in their stride. NSE's Nifty rose 53 points or 0.2% to close at 23,270.6, while BSE's Sensex fell 21.86 points or 0.03% to end at 74,314.59. According to The Economic Times, domestic institutions were buyers to the tune of ₹3,618 crore, while foreign portfolio investors net sold shares worth ₹3,209 crore. The market resilience suggests healthy sentiment among investors despite the volatility, with Nifty's Volatility Index or VIX falling 7.8% to 12.14 levels. Broader market indices outperformed the benchmark, as Nifty Midcap 150 gained 0.9% and Nifty Small-cap 250 rose 0.8%. Out of the total 4,535 stocks traded on the BSE, 2,626 rose and 1,712 declined at close, indicating broad-based buying interest.
Pharma, realty and media shares advanced significantly, with the Nifty Pharma index rising 1.66% to 26,579.25, as reported by Business Standard. Alkem Laboratories surged 3.35%, Dr Reddy's Laboratories gained 3.07%, Gland Pharma rose 2.87%, Aurobindo Pharma advanced 2.86%, Lupin increased 2.6%, Wockhardt jumped 2.51%, Zydus Lifesciences rose 2.49%, Mankind Pharma advanced 2.4%, Laurus Labs gained 2.24%, and Divis Laboratories surged 1.8%. Realty and media sectors also outperformed, with the Nifty Realty index rising 1.45% and the Nifty Media index gaining 1.19%. Private bank, PSU Bank and oil & gas shares declined, with Federal Bank slipping 2% while Jana Small Finance Bank rose 2% on expectations of a corporate announcement. Tata stocks moved higher after news of Chandra's reappointment, with Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles being the top gainer among Tata stocks. Emami added 2.33% to ₹377.90 after the company's board approved a share buyback through the open market at a maximum price of ₹475 per equity share, aggregating up to ₹282 crore, representing 1.36% of its paid-up equity share capital.
Semiconductor and electronics manufacturing stocks were in strong demand as SEMICON India 2026 got underway at Yashobhoomi in New Delhi, according to Business Standard. Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated SEMICON India 2026 on Thursday, with the three-day event being held from 17 to 19 September under the theme "Silicon to Systems: Building the Ecosystem". Syrma SGS Technology was the top gainer, jumping 6.94%, followed by MosChip Technologies which surged 4.69%, Kaynes Technology India which gained 3.99%, Dixon Technologies which advanced 0.83%, while Avalon Technologies rose 0.81%. Semiconductor-related stocks surged significantly, with Kaynes Technology, Hitachi Energy India and CG Power and Industrial Solutions gaining more than 3% each. Airline stocks advanced as crude prices came off highs, with IndiGo and GMR Airports rising 2-3%. Upstream oil companies declined, tracking crude prices, with Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) being the top Nifty loser, falling 2%.
From the Sensex basket, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles Ltd, SBI Life Insurance Company Ltd, Tata Steel Ltd, Dr Reddy's Laboratories Ltd, InterGlobe Aviation Ltd and Jio Financial Services Ltd were the major gainers. As reported by Business Standard, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd, Titan Company Ltd, HDFC Bank Ltd, Grasim Industries Ltd, ICICI Bank Ltd and HCL Technologies Ltd were the biggest laggards. Several companies announced significant corporate actions and business developments, including Imagicaaworld's in-principle approval to sell Hotel Novotel Imagicaa to Juniper Hotels for ₹248 crore. Tata Motors advanced 2.88% after the company announced a price increase of up to 1% on its range of commercial vehicles, effective 1 October 2026. Neogen Chemicals jumped 3.37% after the company announced the successful completion of qualified institutions placement (QIP) for the equity shares, raising an aggregate of approximately ₹599.99 crore. Precision Wires India rose 2.57% after the company said it has commenced trial production of copper cathodes at its copper refining/recycling plant located at Zaroli, Gujarat. RIR Power Electronics surged 10.70% after the company announced the completion of installation of silicon carbide (SiC) epitaxial wafer manufacturing reactors at its semiconductor facility in Bhubaneswar, Odisha.
The 25-basis-point rate hike by the Fed helped cool bond yields, with the 10-year yield falling below 5%, snapping eight straight days of an uptrend, as reported by The Economic Times. The 10-year yield had soared to 5.041%, the highest level since July 2007, as elevated oil prices increased inflationary expectations. Sunny Agrawal, head of research at SBI Securities, said a correction in oil prices this morning also provided some relief to Indian markets, with Brent crude oil November futures trading around $102 a barrel on Thursday evening, down from the $105 mark on Wednesday. Other Asian markets ended mixed on Thursday, with Japan advancing 0.3%, Taiwan rising 1%, while China and Hong Kong declined 0.4% each, and South Korea ending flat. The pan-European index Stoxx 600 was up 0.5% at the time of going to print. Ramesh Mantri, chief investment officer at WhiteOak Capital AMC, noted that the Fed rate hike was widely anticipated, with both US and Indian interest rates having already moved higher in anticipation of the decision.
