Sensex, Nifty Extend Winning Run For Second Day

Indian shares rose notably on Thursday ahead of a long holiday weekend.

Financial companies topped the gainers list after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) modified the norms for their investment in alternative investment funds (AIF).

The benchmark S&P BSE Sensex jumped 655.04 points, or 0.90 percent, to 73,651.35 amid a broad-based rally on the last trading session of FY23-24.

The broader NSE Nifty index settled up 203.25 points, or 0.92 percent, at 22,326.90 amid the expiry of March month derivative contracts.

The BSE mid-cap and small-cap indexes ended up 0.62 percent and 0.33 percent, respectively.

About 1,809 shares advanced, 2,014 shares declined, and 115 shares ended unchanged on the BSE.

Eicher Motors, Bajaj Finance, Hero Moto Corp, Bajaj FinServ and Grasim rallied 3-4 percent in the Nifty pack while Reliance Industries, Tech Mahindra, Bajaj Auto, Axis Bank and Shriram Finance fell between half a percent and 1.1 percent.

Global cues were favorable even as hawkish comments from Fed Governor Christopher Waller put fears of higher-for-longer interest rates back in play.

The dollar edged up after Waller told a conference in New York that it is appropriate to reduce the overall number of rate cuts or push them further into the future in response to the inflation readings in the past two months.

Gold held steady below $2,200 per ounce in European trade, while oil recovered some ground after a two-day drop.

Investors eagerly looked ahead to Friday's release of the Fed's preferred inflation gauge as well as speeches from Fed officials, Chair Jerome Powell and rate-setting committee member Mary Daly, for signals on the rate path.

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