India Stocks: Indian shares rise after Fed holds rates steady; earnings-led gains boost optimism

Power Grid of India

Today 10:37

Adds foreign flows data and commentary in paragraph 6 and 7
By Vivek Kumar M
Oct 29 (Reuters) - Indian shares rose on Thursday, rebounding from a recent drop, as the US Federal Reserve held interest rates steady as expected and upbeat quarterly earnings lifted the benchmark indexes.
The benchmark Nifty 50 .NSEI rose 1.1% to 22,936.75 and the BSE Sensex .BSESN added 1.2% to 74,151.04.
The indexes had lost about 2% each in the previous seven sessions, dropping in six of them, weighed down by elevated crude oil prices.
Elsewhere, Asian shares wobbled as AI-related earnings announcements prompted wildly mixed responses. MKTS/GLOB
The Fed left interest rates unchanged on Wednesday, opting to delay any changes to borrowing costs until after next week's US midterm elections while it awaits further data on inflation, which it said "remains elevated."
Brent crude futures LCOc1 fell 0.8% to $114.4 per barrel, as traders weighed Middle East conflict risks to regional energy supplies. O/R
Meanwhile, foreign investors have been net buyers of Indian stocks in five of the last eight trading sessions till Wednesday, amid buzz about possible reduction in long-term capital gains tax.
"There is increasing hope now regarding LTCG tax relief in the coming Budget. It appears that this is no longer a matter of choice. Capital flight of this magnitude ($31 billion so far in 2026) is impacting India’s macros," said VK Vijayakumar, chief investment strategist at Geojit Investments.
Fifteen of the 16 major sectors rose. The broader small-caps .NIFSMCP100 and mid-caps .NIFMDCP100 added 1% each.
Heavyweight financials .NIFTYFIN and information technology stocks .NIFTYIT rose 1.2% and 1%, respectively.
Adani Ports rose 6.3% to a nearly four-month high after it reported higher quarterly profit on strong cargo volumes and raised its operating profit forecast.
Adani Enterprises also added 5.2% after strong July-September earnings, while consumer goods major Hindustan Unilever HLL.NS rose 2.3% as investors weighed higher quarterly profit against commodity inflation.
Power sector companies Power Grid Corporation of India PGRD.NS and NTPC NTPC.NS jumped 3.4% and 2.2% on optimism over strong power demand due to El Niño conditions.

(Reporting by Vivek Kumar M; Editing by Ronojoy Mazumdar, Harikrishnan Nair, Janane Venkatraman and Jochelle Mendonca)
((VivekKumar.M@thomsonreuters.com;))