India’s stock market benchmark rose for the first time on Thursday after it began tracking strength in global markets, as investors ignored price pressures cited in the Fed’s Beige Book and hawkish comments from the Fed chairman.

Gains across sectors drove the overall index higher, with financials, IT, FMCG and auto stocks contributing the most.
Sensex and Nifty50 were up 1% in the first few minutes of trading. The 30-share index rose 609.7 points to 59,638.6, its highest level, while the Nifty climbed to 17,792.2, up 167.8 points from its previous close.

All Nifty50 constituents were higher except ONGC, which opened 0.6% lower as global oil prices hit a seven-month low. Tata Motors, Asian Paints, Tech Mahindra, Bajaj Finserv and IndusInd Bank were among the top gainers.

Infosys, Mahindra & Mahindra, Dr Reddy’s, UltraTech and ICICI Bank – up about 1% each – were also the top blue-chip gainers.

ICICI Bank, Infosys, Bharti Airtel, HDFC Bank and Asian Paints were the biggest contributors to the rise in the overall index. All spaces start in green and Nifty IT ranks in the top three in NSE’s industry index.

VK Vijayakumar, a chief investment strategist at Geojit Financial Services, said the resilience of the domestic market was surprising despite overvalued valuations, global headwinds from rising global inflation, a slowing global economy and an extremely hawkish Fed.

“The broader market is sending momentum and bullish signals. Investors shouldn’t be fighting the broader market. The market may be underestimating India’s strong growth recovery and accompanying earnings growth,” he said.

In early trade, overall market breadth favoured bulls, as 2,307 BSE stocks advanced and 874 declined. Shares of other Asian markets rose after a strong Wall Street overnight. MSCI’s index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was last up 0.5%. Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 2.1%. S&P 500 futures were flat, signalling a weak start on Wall Street. On Wednesday, the three major US stock indexes rose 1-2% to a four-week high.