Indian stock market settles in green ahead of US Fed meet

Mumbai, July 30: The Indian stock market ended the session with a decent gain on Wednesday amid mixed global cues ahead of the US Federal Reserve meeting, despite uncertainty around a potential India-US trade deal within the August 1 deadline.

The mixed Q1 earnings reports also shaped the market sentiment during the trading hours.

Sensex closed at 81,481.86, up 143.91 points or 0.18 per cent. The 30-share index started the session with a decent gap-up at 81,594.52 against the last session’s closing of 81,337.95. The index remained range-bound amid mixed reactions from investors, and it touched an intra-day high at 81,618.96.

Nifty settled at 24,855.05, up 33.95 points or 0.14 per cent.

“Sentiment remained subdued due to lingering uncertainty over the trade deal, following the latest statement from the US President about potential tariffs on India, amid delays in finalising the agreement ahead of the August 1 deadline,” said Ajit Mishra of Religare Broking Ltd.

Additionally, caution prevailed ahead of the outcome of the FOMC meeting — while no rate change is expected, the Fed’s commentary will be closely watched, he added.

L&T, Sun Pharma, NTPC, Maruti Suzuki, Bharti Airtel, Trent, and Axis Bank were the top gainers from the Sensex basket. Tata Motors, Power Grid, Bajaj FinServ, and Kotak Bank were settled in negative territory.

Amongst sectoral indices, Bank Nifty dragged 71 points after selling in banking stocks-especially in PNB, post subdued Q1 earnings report. While Nifty IT, Nifty FMCG and Nifty Fin Services ended the session in green.