Sensex, Nifty Poised For A Gap-Up Opening

The domestic stock markets are likely to have a gap-up opening, buoyed by the strong closing on Wall Street on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve said that the US economy is heading for its strongest growth in nearly 40 years. Trends on SGX Nifty indicate a gap-up opening for the index in India, with a 164-points gain. At 7:30 am, the Nifty futures were trading at 14,935, higher by 164 points or 1.5 per cent on the Singapore Stock Exchange.

Asian stocks were set for modest gains on Thursday after the Federal Reserve pledged to keep monetary policy and rates unchanged and projected a rapid jump in U.S. economic growth this year as the COVID-19 crisis eases.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 futures added 0.12 per cent and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index futures rose 0.68 per cent. E-mini futures for the S&P 500 rose 0.08 per cent.

Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 closed at record highs after the Fed predicted a fast economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic and said it would maintain its interest rate at close to zero.

The Dow Jones closed above 33,000 points for the first time, rising 0.58 per cent to end at 33,015.37 points, while the S&P 500 gained 0.29 per cent to 3,974.12 and Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.4 per cent to 13,525.20.

Meanwhile, oil prices dropped for a fifth day on Thursday after official data showed a sustained rise in U.S. crude and fuel inventories, while the ever-present pandemic clouded the demand outlook.

Brent crude was down 12 cents, or 0.2 per cent, at $67.88 a barrel after dropping by 0.6 per cent on Wednesday. U.S. oil was also down 12 cents or 0.2 per cent at $64.48 a barrel, having fallen 0.3 per cent in the previous session.

On Wednesday, the benchmark indices fell for the fourth consecutive session amid selling in banking, financials, auto, metals and pharma counters. The S&P BSE Sensex declined 562.34 points or 1.12 per cent to close at 49,801.62 and the Nifty dropped 189.20 points or 1.27 per cent to 14,721.30.