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Indian equity benchmarks ended with strong gains on Thursday following value buying in banking, TECK and IT stocks and a largely positive trend in global markets. Markets begun the day on a strong note, as traders took encouragement as International Monetary Fund's (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said that despite global uncertainty and headwinds, India continues to be a bright spot in the global economy. Investors continued to take support with Sanjiv Bajaj, President of industry body CII stating that India is in a much better position to deal with the challenges related to growth and inflation. Besides, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) have net-bought shares worth Rs 758.37 crore on September 7, as per provisional data available on the NSE.

Markets extended gains in last leg of trade, taking support as Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman highlighted that inflation has come down to a manageable level and said the country’s economic growth remains a priority for the government. She added that job creation and equitable distribution of wealth remain the other focus areas. The sentiments remained ebullient amid private report stating that the Indian market has chartered a divergent path with most world markets over the past three months. To illustrate, the benchmark Sensex is up 7 per cent over the past three months even as the MSCI World index has declined 7 per cent.

On the global front, Asian markets ended mostly higher on Thursday as investors also await comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell later in the day for additional clues on inflation and growth outlook. European markets were trading mostly in green as investors await the ECB rate decision and an announcement on U.K. Prime Minister Liz Truss's energy bill support package later in the day. The European Central Bank is widely expected to go for a large, 50-basis-point rate hike or a record 75-basis-point one, given the record high inflation and the tightening stance of its global peers.

Back home, aviation industry stocks were under pressure as Icra in its report stated that domestic airlines industry is expected to report a net loss of around Rs 15,000-17,000 crore this fiscal on account of elevated price of Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) and a weak rupee. Majority of automobile industry stocks ended higher as automobile dealers' body FADA said retail sales of automobiles in India grew 8.31 per cent in August this year on the back of increase in registrations of vehicles across all major segments.

Finally, the BSE Sensex rose 659.31 points or 1.12% to 59,688.22 and the CNX Nifty was up by 174.35 points or 0.99% to 17,798.75.

The BSE Sensex touched high and low of 59,711.96 and 59,315.71, respectively. There were 24 stocks advancing against 6 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices ended in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 0.29%, while Small cap index was up by 0.60%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Bankex up by 1.94%, TECK up by 1.04%, IT up by 1.02%, PSU up by 0.87% and Telecom up by 0.71%, while Metal down by 1.18%, Consumer Durables down by 0.48%, Realty down by 0.34%, Utilities down by 0.18% and Power down by 0.16% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tech Mahindra up by 3.23%, Axis Bank up by 3.22%, ICICI Bank up by 2.57%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 2.48% and Bharti Airtel up by 2.28%. On the flip side, Tata Steel down by 1.63%, NTPC down by 0.33%, Titan Company down by 0.32%, Nestle down by 0.15% and Power Grid Corporation down by 0.09% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, highlighting inflation has come down to a manageable level, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said the country’s economic growth remains a priority for the government. She added that job creation and equitable distribution of wealth remain the other focus areas. She said ‘some of course are red-lettered (priorities), some may not be. Red-lettered ones would of course be jobs, equitable wealth distribution and making sure India is moving on the path of growth.’

She also said ‘In that sense inflation is not red-lettered. I hope it doesn’t surprise many of you. We have shown that in the past couple of months that we were able to bring it to a manageable level’. According to the government data, retail inflation softened to 6.71 per cent in July due to moderation in food prices but remained above the Reserve Bank’s comfort level of 6 per cent for the seventh consecutive month. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) based retail inflation was at 7.01 per cent in June and 5.59 per cent in July 2021. It was above 7 per cent from April to June this fiscal. She exuded confidence that the Reserve Bank would manage the volatility emerging from aggressive rate hike stance by the US Fed and the European Central Bank.

About fiscal management during the COVID-19 period, she said India with a targeted fiscal policy managed through a challenging time without printing money. Referring to the global energy crisis triggered by the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, she said uncertainty over availability of crude, natural gas continues. She also urged for deepening of ties between India and the US in all respects including on payment technology.

The CNX Nifty traded in a range of 17,807.65 and 17,691.95. There were 33 stocks advancing against 16 stocks declining, while 1 stock remain unchanged on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Shree Cement up by 4.84%, BPCL up by 3.98%, Axis Bank up by 3.47%, Tech Mahindra up by 3.24% and ICICI Bank up by 2.67%. On the flip side, Hindalco down by 2.97%, Tata Steel down by 1.53%, Coal India down by 1.17%, Tata Consumer Products own by 0.87% and SBI Life Insurance down by 0.87% were the top losers.

European markets were trading mostly in green; UK’s FTSE 100 increased 19.49 points or 0.27% to 7,257.32 and France’s CAC increased 22.21 points or 0.36% to 6,128.13, while Germany’s DAX decreased 29.31 points or 0.23% to 12,886.66.

Asian markets ended mostly higher on Thursday following the broadly positive cues from the US markets overnight. Japanese markets ended higher as the yen's rapid depreciation raised hopes for better outlook for exporters. Seoul stocks eked out modest gains to rebound from a seven-week low hit the previous day, as the dollar rally paused, and Treasury yields eased. However, Chinese and Hong Kong markets ended on a subdued note on news of extended lockdowns in the Chinese city of Chengdu. A cautious undertone prevailed as investors awaited the ECB rate decision and a speech by US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.

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