Sensex, Nifty End Off Day's Highs Ahead Of Powell's Speech
(RTTNews) - Indian shares ended modestly higher on Thursday, giving up some early gains as investors awaited cues from U.S. PMI and initial jobless claims figures as well as Fed Chair Powell's Friday speech at the Jackson Hole Symposium.
Underlying sentiment remained supported by a continued fall in oil prices and dovish minutes from the Federal Reserve meeting.
The July Fed meeting minutes showed 'vast majority' of policymakers thought move to lower borrowing costs was 'appropriate' if data continued to come in as expected.
Also, new data showed on Wednesday that U.S. job growth during much of the past year was significantly weaker than initially estimated, raising concerns the world's largest economy is slowing and the Fed has waited too long to cut interest rates.
Markets are currently pricing in a 100 percent probability of a September cut, but there is divided opinion on the quantum of the cut.
The 30-share BSE Sensex ended at 81,053, up 148 points, or 0.18 percent from its previous close, while the broader NSE index closed 41 points, or 0.17 percent, higher at 24,812.
Grasim topped the gainers list to close 2.7 percent higher while Tata Steel, Apollo Hospitals Enterprise, Bharti Airtel and Tata Consumer Products climbed 1-2 percent.
On the losing side, Dr Reddy's Laboratories, Mahindra & Mahindra, Tata Motors, NTPC and Wipro all fell over 1 percent.
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