By Bharath Rajeswaran
(Reuters) -India’s equity benchmarks rose on Monday, as softer-than-expected September U.S. inflation boosted bets for additional Federal Reserve rate cuts in 2025 and signs of progress in trade negotiations between the U.S. and China lifted sentiment.
The Nifty 50 rose 0.51% to 25,927, while the BSE Sensex added 0.5% to 84,633.85 as of 9:40 a.m. IST.
All 16 major sectors logged gains. The broader small-caps and mid-caps added about 0.6% each.
Other Asian markets rose after U.S. consumer price inflation eased in September, reinforcing hopes that the Fed will cut rates at its policy meeting on Wednesday and in December.
Lower U.S. rates make emerging markets such as India more attractive to foreign investors. [MKTS/GLOB]
Meanwhile, top Chinese and U.S. economic officials hashed out the framework of a trade deal for U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping to decide on later this week, U.S. officials said on Sunday.
“Softer-than-expected U.S. inflation, prospects of U.S.-China trade deal and possible U.S. tariff cuts on Indian imports are spurring optimism in markets,” said Prashanth Tapse, senior vice president of research at Mehta Equities.
Metals and oil and gas indexes rose 0.8% and 1.1%, respectively, as U.S.-China trade deal framework eased fears that tariffs and export curbs between world’s top two economies could dent global demand and growth. [MET/l] [O/R]
Among individual stocks, Coforge climbed 4.3% after posting higher-than-expected second-quarter profit on improved client spending.
SBI Life Insurance rose 3.1% despite reporting lower profit in the September quarter as costs rose.
Despite a drop in second-quarter profit, the insurer looks well placed to see margin expansion and offers a compounding opportunity at current valuations, said analysts at HSBC.
SBI Card lost 2.9% after missing quarterly profit view on higher operating costs.
Private lender Kotak Mahindra Bank fell 1.3% on posting a lower-than-expected profit for the second quarter due to higher provisions.
(Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran in Bengaluru; Editing by Sumana Nandy and Mrigank Dhaniwala)
