FINAL TRADE: Nifty 2 pts shy of 22,650, Sensex gains 128 pts led by auto, power stocks

Stock market today: Domestic equity benchmarks Nifty50 and Sensex edged up on Thursday, May 2 led by buying in automobile and power stocks. The trend was in line with global peers, after a less hawkish US Federal Reserve downplayed an interest rate hike, while a drop in global oil prices also helped cool domestic inflation fears.

The leaner Sensex index rose 128.33 points, or 0.17 per cent, to settle at 74,611.11 while the 50-share index Nifty settled at 22,648.2, up 43.35  points, or 0.19 per cent. BPCL, Power Grid, Asain Paints and Tata Motors were the top gainers in the Nifty50 basket. On the other hand, Kotak Bank, Tata Consumer Products, Bharti Airtel and Axis Bank were the other major laggards.

The high-beta Nifty Bank index, whose 12 constituents include SBI, HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank, closed down 165.7 points, or 0.34 per cent, at 49,231.05. Nifty Midcap 100 lost 0.49 per cent while Nifty Smallcap closed flat for the day. 

Financial services, the heaviest-weighted segment in the Nifty 50, closed 0.15 per cent higher. Meanwhile, Nifty IT closed sluggish.

"Benchmark indices saw moderate gains, mirroring global trends after the FED decided to maintain its interest rate, as widely accepted. The US central bank hinted at potential rate cuts while remaining cautious about sustaining the high inflation trend. The broader market largely traded range bound, while positive commentary from the auto companies on recent volume numbers led the sector to outperform," Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services said. 

Global Market 

European shares flitted in a tight range on Thursday, after falling to a one-week low in early trade, as investors returned from a mid-week holiday to gauge a slew of earnings and the Federal Reserve signalling a delay in interest rate cuts.

The pan-European STOXX 600 (.STOXX) held its ground at 503.55, as of 0830 GMT, after logging its first monthly decline this year in April.

Market sentiment has come under pressure as investors navigated through risks surrounding the Middle East geopolitical conflict, the European Central Bank's policy outlook beyond June, and the corporate earnings season.

(With agency inputs)

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