Indian Shares Rise, Lift Nifty Up Past 20k Mark Again; IT Stocks Rally

(RTTNews) - Indian shares are up firmly in positive territory Wednesday morning, with investors indulging in some brisk buying amid optimism about US Federal Reserve beginning to cut interest rates sooner than earlier thought.

Despite some hawkish comments now and then from Fed officials, remarks from Christopher Waller that the central bank might cut rate as early as March 24 if inflation continues to decline appear to have lifted sentiment.

Automobile, technology, oil and PSU bank stocks are among the prominent gainers.

The BSE benchmark Sensex is up 391.47 points or 0.59% at 66,565.67, after hitting a high of 66,597.96. The broader Nifty50 index of the National Stock Exchange, which has climbed past the 20,000 mark for the first time in about seven weeks, is up 112.15 points or 0.56% at 20,001.85.

Wipro is rising 2.3% and Tech Mahindra is gaining about 2%. HCL Technologies and Infosys are up 1.4% and 0.85%, respectively.

Tata Consultancy Services is up 0.75%. The company on Tuesday that its Rs 17,000-crore share buyback programme will open on December 1 and close on December 7.

Mahindra & Mahindra is up 2.7%. Axis Bank is up 1.5%. Bharti Airtel, HDFC Bank, Tata Steel, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, Larsen & Toubro, Tata Steel and Reliance Industries are up 0.4 to 1.2%.

Hero Motocorp is up 2.5%. Britannia Industries and MindTree are gaining 1.5% and 1.3%, respectively.

Tata Power has announced that its energy arm has received a letter of award for a 200 MW firm and dispatchable renewable energy project with SJVN. The stock is up nearly 1%.

Siemens reported fourth-quarter consolidated revenue of Rs 5,808 crore, up 25% compared to the revenue it posted a year ago. Net profit dropped 12% year-on-year to Rs 571 crore in the fourth quarter. The stock is down 0.8%.

Zomato shares climbed more than 4% after over 300 million shares of the company changed hands through a block deal this morning.

Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA) shares made a strong debut this morning. The stock listed at a premium of about 56.25%, debuting at Rs 50. The company had allotted the shares at Rs 32 per share.

The market breadth is strong. On BSE, 2,038 stocks are up in positive territory, and 1,410 stocks are down, while 153 stocks are little changed from their previous closing levels.