Stock Market LIVE Updates, Tuesday, September 17, 2024: Indian shares were trading steady near their all-time highs on Tuesday, with traders expecting marginal moves ahead of the US Federal Reserve’s widely expected interest rate cut a day later.
At 1:00 PM, the BSE Senesex was up 128 points, or 0.15 per cent, at 83,117, while the Nifty 50 was at 25,427, up 44 points, or 0.17 per cent. They hit record highs on Monday.
While the Fed is widely expected to cut rates on Wednesday, after Indian markets close, the uncertainty is over the size of the cut–by 25 basis points or 50 basis points.
The odds of a 50-bps cut have climbed recently–to 67 per cent from 50 per cent last week– which raises the chances of foreign investors shifting funds to emerging markets such as India in search of higher returns.
However, the likelihood of a bigger rate cut has also prompted fears that the Fed may have started its easing cycle a little too late. For the year, though, markets have priced in roughly 120bps worth of easing by December.
Meanwhile, ten of the 13 major sectors declined on the day, while the small- and mid-caps dipped 0.5 per cent each.
Consumer stocks, which dropped 1.4 per cent over the last two sessions, gained 0.3 per cent on the day.
Among individual stocks, Bajaj Housing Finance jumped 8 per cent after the housing finance company surged 136 per cent in its trading debut on Monday.
That apart, Asian stocks gained on Tuesday while the dollar and US Treasury yields came under pressure.
Extended holidays in China and South Korea made for thin trading conditions, with investors focused on Wednesday’s Fed decision.
A stronger yen stoked concerns about Japanese exporters’ earnings and pulled down Tokyo’s Nikkei by 2 per cent as the market returned from a national holiday on Monday.
Outside Japan, MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares rose 0.47 per cent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index advanced 1.44 per cent.
S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq futures both eased marginally, though EUROSTOXX 50 futures tacked on 0.33 per cent and FTSE futures gained 0.57 per cent.
The two-year US Treasury yield, which typically reflects near-term rate expectations, was last at 3.5547 per cent, having fallen to a
two-year low of 3.5280 per cent in the previous session.
The benchmark 10-year yield was little changed at 3.6232 per cent.
The Bank of England (BoE) and the Bank of Japan (BOJ) also meet this week to discuss monetary policy, where both central banks are seen keeping rates on hold.
Elsewhere in Asia, China’s stuttering economic recovery continued to weigh on sentiment.
Still, concerns over faltering Chinese demand for oil were overshadowed by the ongoing impact of Hurricane Francine on output in the US Gulf of Mexico, sending oil prices rising on Tuesday.
Brent crude futures rose 0.44 per cent to $73.07 a barrel, while U.S. crude futures gained 0.67 per cent to $70.56 per barrel.
Spot gold eased 0.22 per cent to $2,576.84 an ounce.
