Indian stock market continued to roar for the sixth straight session on Tuesday, April 22, despite a weak handover from Wall Street, as strong gains in financials and autos and a stellar rebound in FMCG stocks helped benchmark indices close the session in the green.
Metal stocks also lent support to the benchmarks after the government imposed a 12% provisional safeguard duty for 200 days on five categories of steel products. Realty stocks, on the other hand, surged up to 6%, driven by improving liquidity conditions.
Broader markets extended their outperformance over frontline indices, with both mid- and small-cap stocks continuing to rally as sentiment in the Indian stock market improved, driven by strong domestic cues.
The Nifty 50 ended the trading session with a gain of 0.17%, settling at 24,167 points, while the Sensex concluded the trade with a rally of 0.24%, at 79,595. Meanwhile, the Nifty Midcap 100 gained another 0.8% to settle at 54,397 points, while its peer, the Nifty Small Cap 100 index, finished the trade at 16,896 points, 0.73% higher than the previous close.
Indian benchmark indices have gained 9% in the last nine trading sessions, driven by optimism over easing inflation, ongoing trade talks with the US and the return of Foreign Portfolio Investor (FPI) inflows.
Among other asset classes, gold continued to shine brightly as spot prices touched a new record high of $3,490 per troy ounce, driven by a continued surge in safe-haven demand amid rising tensions between the USA and China and concerns over a potential slowdown in the American economy. These factors have put severe pressure on the US Dollar Index, helping gold maintain its global appeal.
In the previous trading, US benchmark indices crashed over 2% after President Trump reiterated his criticism of Fed Chair Jerome Powell, even suggesting the possibility of removing him. These remarks have raised concerns about the politicisation of US monetary policy, potentially undermining the Fed’s credibility and eroding investor confidence in the economy.
