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Sensex rises 250 points following revival in Asia and US Fed decision, FTSE 100 ends higher

Federal Reserve Board Chairman Jerome Powell said the US economy is still a good deal away from making “substantial further progress” toward the Fed’s dual mandates of stable prices and maximum employment (Getty Images)
Federal Reserve Board Chairman Jerome Powell said the US economy is still a good deal away from making “substantial further progress” toward the Fed’s dual mandates of stable prices and maximum employment (Getty Images)

India’s stock markets opened in the positive territory on Thursday, tracking gains in Asia and the US federal reserve decision to keep its interest near zero.

BSE Sensex gained half a per cent or 250 points to reach 52,693 while the Nifty50 crossed 15,750.

Asian stocks rose on Thursday following China’s efforts to stop the selloff following its crackdown on ed-tech, and the US fed announcement. Most major indices, including Japan and China, are trading in the green, while Hang Seng surged over 2.7 per cent.

Wall Street indices saw a mixed closing on Wednesday after Federal Reserve kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged at the record low level of near zero amid growing concerns over surging inflation and the rapid spread of the Delta variant. Following the announcement, S&P 500 erased earlier losses and ended the session with little changed at 4,400, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.7 per cent.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 128 points.

Britain’s FTSE 100 surged with the help of airlines stocks as the country opened its borders to fully jabbed travellers without mandatory quarantine, providing a major relief to the travel sector of post-pandemic economic growth with hopes of the return of transatlantic and European trade.

The blue chip index rose 20 points, or 0.3 per cent, closing at 7,017, with International Consolidated Airlines Group surging 4 per cent on the index. However, the biggest gainer was miner Fresnillo after the company said that it remains on track to meet full-year targets and that its production guidance for 2021 was unchanged.

While the index has recovered most of the losses incurred during last week’s fall, it still remains below the previously seen levels as the fears of another Covid wave continue to linger on.

Meanwhile, the domestically focused FTSE 250 index also gained 0.6 per cent, with airlines stocks as one of the biggest gainers.