Indian shares are set to extend the previous session's rally, mirroring strong global cues on continued speculation that the Federal Reserve could make another move to boost growth in the world's largest economy. U.S. stocks rallied overnight and Asian markets are rising across the board, while commodities are trading mixed.
Closer home, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said that there is no need to panic over economic slowdown, though the widening fiscal and current account deficits were a matter of concern. On the other hand, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh sought to revive investor sentiment by announcing ambitious infrastructure development plans for the current fiscal year, in a bid to boost sagging economy and counter criticism over a perceived policy paralysis.
In corporate news, private equity firm Samara Capital plans to buy a minority stake in apparel retailer Monte Carlo Fashions, according to media reports.
Indian Hotels Company has informed BSE that Ms. A. R. Aga has resigned from the board of directors of the company, with immediate effect.
Global IT services HCL Technologies unveiled its global delivery centre for business process outsourcing services in Philippines. The company said that this centre will employ 400 professionals to create global delivery capability for its clients.
Indian shares rallied on Wednesday, with benchmark indexes Sensex and the Nifty climbing about 2.7 percent each, as hopes of a cut in policy rates at the upcoming monetary policy meeting spurred buying in rate-sensitive stocks.
U.S. stocks rallied sharply overnight, recovering further from the sell-off seen in recent weeks, with optimism about further stimulus from the world's central banks underpinning sentiment. The Dow and the tech-heavy Nasdaq jumped 2.4 percent each, while the S&P 500 added 2.3 percent.
The optimism came even as the European Central Bank announced its widely expected decision to leave interest rates unchanged following its monetary policy meeting.
Traders were also initially disappointed by ECB President Mario Draghi's remarks at a subsequent press conference, as they did not seem to indicate that the ECB was planning on providing further stimulus. Draghi later told reporters that the central bank stands "ready to act" if the economic situation continues to worsen.
Positive sentiment was also generated by comments from Atlanta Federal Reserve President Dennis Lockhart, who said that the option of extending "Operation Twist" is still on the table. Operation Twist involves replacing short-term securities in the Fed's bond portfolio with longer-term securities in an effort to push already low long-term interest rates even lower.
by RTT Staff Writer
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