Share Market Today 18 September: Indian stock market opens on a strong note

Share Market Today 18 September: On Thursday, Indian stock markets began with significant strength as investors reacted positively to the U.S. Federal Reserve's move to reduce interest rates by 25 basis points. Both major indices experienced notable increases at the start, influenced by favorable global signals and the Fed's accommodating approach.

The Nifty 50 index opened at 25,441.05, rising 110.80 points or 0.44 per cent, while the BSE Sensex surged 415.21 points or 0.50 per cent to open at 83,108.92.

Analysts noted that the rate cut was widely expected, and the move is being seen as supportive for emerging markets, though foreign portfolio inflows into India may still take some time to recover.

Banking and market expert Ajay Bagga told ANI that the market reaction was broadly in line with expectations.

"Indian markets are pointing to some strength at the open. There was a Fed rate cut as expected. It was 25 bps as expected. Trump nominee to the Fed Board sought a 50 bps cut as expected. The commentary sounded dovish as the Fed pivoted to managing employment from concern over persistent inflation," he said.

He added that markets had already run up on hopes of a rate cut and further easing.

"Markets had run up on expectations of the rate cut and two more cuts in 2025 coming up. The Fed delivered on that. What did not go well was the Fed SEP or Dot Plot which showed just 1 cut in 2026 and 1 cut in 2027," Bagga said.

He also noted that tariffs have not yet significantly impacted U.S. inflation because goods were front-loaded earlier in the year, though inflationary pressures from tariffs are expected later.Experts believe that foreign portfolio inflows into India will likely turn positive in the next three months or with fresh allocations at the start of the new year in January.

Emerging markets overall may see enhanced inflows as the U.S. dollar softens following the Fed's rate cuts. For India, however, significant inflows are expected only after a stronger earnings recovery by the last quarter of calendar year 2025.

Indian markets experienced widespread buying activity. On the NSE, the Nifty 100 increased by 0.40 percent, the Nifty Midcap 100 went up by 0.34 percent, and the Nifty Smallcap 100 advanced by 0.39 percent in early trading. All major sector indices also opened on a positive note. Nifty IT led the rise with a 0.97 percent increase, followed by Nifty Media with a 0.53 percent gain, Nifty Pharma up by 0.36 percent, Nifty Auto increasing by 0.34 percent, and Nifty FMCG rising by 0.23 percent.

In Asia, most major markets were also trading positively on Thursday. Japan's Nikkei 225 rose by 1.36 percent, Taiwan's Weighted Index increased by 0.8 percent, and South Korea's KOSPI gained over 1 percent. The only exception was Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index, which traded lower in early transactions.