Sensex Jumps 905 Points, Nifty Closes Above 22,900; Realty and FMCG Stocks Lead Gains

Indian benchmark indices ended Thursday's session with strong gains, recovering from the previous day's decline. The BSE Sensex jumped 905.01 points, or 1.24%, to close at 74,151.04, while the Nifty 50 rose 237.90 points, or 1.05%, to settle at 22,936.75.

Buying across major sectors lifted sentiment, with the Nifty Realty index leading the rally. The US Federal Reserve's decision to hold interest rates unchanged also remained in focus.

Realty and FMCG Lead Sectoral Gains

The Nifty Realty index emerged as the top-performing sector, rising 2.75%, followed by the Nifty FMCG index, which gained 2.34%. Banking stocks also witnessed buying interest, with Kotak Mahindra Bank advancing 4.32%.

IT stocks recovered from Wednesday's losses, while the Nifty Auto index was the only sectoral loser, declining 0.24%.

The broader market participated in the rally, with the mid-cap and small-cap indices gaining approximately 0.99% and 0.95%, respectively.

Federal Reserve Holds Rates; Crude Oil Above $114

The US Federal Reserve maintained its benchmark interest rate at 3.75% to 4%, keeping investors focused on its outlook for inflation and future monetary policy.

Meanwhile, Brent crude prices declined approximately 1.4% to around $114 per barrel. Despite the decline, elevated oil prices continued to pose inflation and import-cost risks for India.

Nifty 50: Key Index Contributors

Kotak Mahindra Bank contributed the most to the Nifty's gains, adding 30.64 points. Adani Ports and Eternal followed with contributions of 18.94 and 18.84 points, respectively.

On the downside, HDFC Bank dragged the index by 6.71 points, followed by Maruti Suzuki at 4.36 points and Trent at 3.81 points.

Market Breadth Remains Positive

Market breadth favoured buyers, with 2,196 stocks advancing against 1,387 declines among 3,693 traded stocks. Another 110 stocks remained unchanged.

During the session, 54 stocks touched their 52-week highs, while 117 slipped to 52-week lows. Additionally, 140 stocks hit upper circuits compared with 69 stocks hitting lower circuits.

European Markets Trade Higher

European equities traded higher on Thursday, led by France's CAC 40, which gained 0.97% to 7,963.48. Germany's DAX rose 0.90% to 25,936.06, while the UK's FTSE 100 advanced 0.32% to 10,728.70.

All three indices remained in positive territory as European trading continued.

US Stock Futures Show Mixed Trend

US stock index futures traded mixed, with Dow Jones futures rising 304 points, or 0.58%, to 53,000.

In contrast, S&P 500 futures declined 15 points, or 0.19%, to 7,768.25, while Nasdaq 100 futures dropped 276.50 points, or 0.92%, to 29,703, indicating weakness in technology-heavy futures.