Shares turn rangebound; European shares advance

The domestic equity barometers were trading with modest gains. At 18:57 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 330.58 points or 0.55% to 60,102.50. The Nifty 50 index added 92.25 points or 0.52% to 17,921.45.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index surged 0.77% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index was up 1.32%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2474 shares rose and 484 shares fell. A total of 121 shares were unchanged.

The domestic market is open today for a special one-hour Muhurat trading session on the occasion of Diwali. The session also marks the beginning of Samvat 2078 -- the Hindu calendar year that starts on Diwali.

The exchanges will remain closed on Friday, (5 November), on the occasion of Diwali Balipratipada.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty FMCG index rose 0.83% to 38,688.35. The index fell 0.76% in the past two sessions.

Radico Khaitan (up 2.84%), ITC (up 1.71%), United Spirits (up 1.44%), Godrej Consumer (up 1.33%), Colgate-Palmolive India (up 0.82%), Nestle India (up 0.74%), United Breweries (up 0.60%), Marico (up 0.50%), Britannia Industries (up 0.36%), Hindustan Unilever (up 0.45%), Dabur India (up 0.39%) and Tata Consumer Products (up 0.16%) advanced.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Steel Strips Wheels advanced 0.54% to Rs 1756. The company confirmed export orders valued close to $12 million from Western Hemisphere. The said orders would be executed till end of Jan 2022 from its Chennai & Dappar plants.

Lupin rose 0.13% to Rs 936. The drug major announced the launch of the authorized generic version of Antara (Fenofibrate) Capsules, 30 mg and 90 mg, of Lupin Atlantis Holdings, S.A. Corporation, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Lupin.

Precision Camshafts added 2.48% to Rs 101.50. The company has signed an MoU with Solapur Municipal Corporation (SMC) to develop 100% retrofitted electric vehicles for waste collection.

Global markets:

Shares in Europe and Asia advanced on Thursday as markets reacted to the U.S. Federal Reserve's announcement that it will start to taper its bond-buying program and the Bank of England's decision to hold rates steady for now.

US stocks rose to new records on Wednesday after the US Federal Reserve made its long-anticipated announcement to slow the monthly bond purchases the central bank implemented during the pandemic.

The Fed said it will begin tapering bond purchases later this month and will reduce buying by $15 billion a month, putting it on track to end the quantitative easing by the middle of next year. This timeline and amount was in line with expectations. However, the Fed said it is prepared to alter the pace of purchases if warranted by changes in the economic outlook.

In Europe, the Bank of England held interest rates steady on Thursday. The bank's Monetary Policy Committee voted 7-2 to keep its benchmark interest rate unchanged at its historic low of 0.1%, and 6-3 in favor of continuing the existing program of U.K. government bond purchases at a target stock of 875 billion ($1.2 trillion). The MPC voted unanimously to maintain its 20 billion stock of corporate bond purchases, keeping the total asset purchase program at 895 billion.

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