Indices trade with strong gains; media shares advance

The key equity indices traded with significant gains in mid-afternoon trade. Investors found solace in the U.S. Federal Reserve`s decision to maintain its benchmark interest rate unaltered. The Nifty hovered near the 19,100 level. Metal shares advanced after declining for past trading session. Trading could remain volatile on the domestic bourses on account of weekly index options expiry on the NSE.

At 14:25 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 422.43 points or 0.66% to 64,013.76. The Nifty 50 index added 131.05 points or 0.69% to 19,120.20.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index gained 1.09% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index rose 0.84%.

The market breadth is strong. On the BSE, 2,301 shares rose and 1,281 shares fell. A total of 157 shares were unchanged.

The US Federal Reserve held interest rates at a 22-year high, with the benchmark rate remaining between 5.25% and 5.50%, for the second meeting in a row.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Metal index gained 1.78% to 6,472.85. The index declined 1.43% in past trading sessions.

Adani Enterprises (up 3.28%), Hindustan Copper (up 3.23%), NMDC (up 3.09%), Steel Authority of India (up 2.35%) and Hindalco Industries (up 2.13%), National Aluminium Company (up 1.63%), Vedanta (up 1.47%), APL Apollo Tubes (up 1.4%), Tata Steel (up 1.2%) and JSW Steel (up 1.1%) advanced.

Numbers to track:

The yield on India`s 10-year benchmark federal paper declined 0.41% to 7.328 from its previous close of 7.358.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged higher against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 83.2600, compared with its close of 83.2850 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 5 December 2023 settlement added 0.30% to Rs 60,966.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback`s value against a basket of currencies, was down 0.51% to 106.34.

The United States 10-year bond yield slippped 1.25% to 4.729.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for January 2023 settlement gained $ 1.18 or 1.39% to $85.81 a barrel.

Stocks in Spotlight:

LIC Housing Finance declined 2.50%. The company reported a net profit of Rs 1,188.05 crore in Q2 FY24, steeply higher than Rs 304.97 crore recorded in Q2 FY23. Total income stood at Rs 6,758.75 crore in the second quarter of FY24, registering a growth of 32.73% from Rs 5,092.02 crore posted in Q2 FY23.

Kansai Nerolac Paints fell 1.03%. The company reported a standalone net profit jumped 53.41% to Rs 179.89 crore in Q2 FY24 as compared with Rs 117.26 crore in Q2 FY23. Revenue from operations rose 1.73% year on year to Rs 1,845.57 crore in the quarter ended 30 September 2023.

State Bank of India (SBI) rose 0.88%. The company informed that it raised Rs 10,000 crore through its first Basel III compliant Tier 2 bond for the current financial year.

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