Equity benchmarks started off session at fresh 52-week high on Thursday, with the Nifty March futures hitting 9000 level, backed by banks, auto, technology and metals stocks. The 30-share BSE Sensex was up 148.09 points at 29132.58 and the 50-share NSE Nifty gained 41.90 points at 8987.70. About 673 shares advanced against 106 declining shares on the BSE. Tata Motors, ICICI Bank, Wipro, Bajaj Auto, GAIL, Hindalco and Tata Motors (DVR) were early gainers while Dr Reddy's Labs and Coal India were under pressure. The Indian rupee gained by 8 paise at 66.75 per dollar versus 66.83 Wednesday. Tirthankar Patnaik of Mizuho Bank says he expects the USD-INR to range between 66.50-67.50/dollar in the near term with the State election results on March 11 crucial for its continued strength. The dollar hit a seven-week high after hawkish comments from two Federal Reserve officials increased expectations that the US Central Bank is closer to raising interest rates. Futures traders are now pricing in a 69 percent chance of a Fed hike in March, up from 35 percent on Tuesday. Asia markets traded mostly higher, tracking gains in the US where the Dow Jones industrial average closed above 21,000 on the back of President Donald Trump's speech to lawmakers.
The employment data in the US does not show any spectacular progress, but remains steady, Willem Buiter, Chief Economist at Citi told CNBC-TV18. This may result in the US Federal Reserve hiking key rates when it meets in March, he added. However, he said emerging markets are unlikely to falter as the momentum in the emerging markets steadily pick up pace in 2017. He said, for instance, the worst performers of last year, Russia and Brazil, are showing various positive signs. The dollar's movement will largely depend on the fiscal package that is proposed to the US Congress, according to the economist, who sees a slight uptick in the dollar in 2017.
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