Sensex rises 200 points, Nifty tops 24,150 as RBI's liquidity measures defy weak global cues

Indian benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty ticked higher on Tuesday, as the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI's) liquidity-enhancing measures helped counter weak global cues triggered by U.S. President Donald Trump's continued criticism of the Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell.

The BSE Sensex was up 205 points, or 0.26%, at 79,613, while the Nifty50 rose 52 points, or 0.21%, to 24,177 around 9:36 am.

From the Sensex pack, Eternal, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Tata Steel, HDFC Bank, and Bajaj Finance were among the top gainers, rising up to 3.4% in early trade. In contrast, IndusInd Bank, Infosys, Power Grid, Asian Paints, and HCL Tech opened in the red.


Nifty Bank stocks gained up to 1.4% after the RBI directed lenders to assign a lower-than-proposed buffer rate of 2.5% on digitally accessible deposits, with a one-year compliance window — the latest move in its regulatory easing efforts.

Meanwhile, IT stocks such as Infosys, HCL Tech, Wipro, and TCS fell up to 1.7% in early trade amid weak global cues, as President Donald Trump's renewed criticism of Fed Chair Jerome Powell for not cutting interest rates led Wall Street indices to drop around 2.5% on Monday, while the dollar slid to a three-year low.

Metal stocks surged up to 3% after the Indian government imposed a 12% provisional safeguard duty on certain steel products to curb rising imports.

Experts' View

"During normal times, the correlation between the U.S. market—known as the mother market—and other markets is high. But these are abnormal times when the usual correlation may not hold. The U.S. market was rattled yesterday on news of potential Trump-Powell tensions, which could impact the independence of the Fed. Markets abhor this," said Dr. V.K. Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services.

"Powell has made it clear that he will act based on incoming data and the evolving outlook, which are now negative for the U.S. economy. He also ruled out the possibility of a ‘Fed Put’ in a recent interview with Raghuram Rajan. Therefore, disagreement between the President and the Fed Chair is likely to linger, potentially leading to action from the mercurial President that could trigger legal battles," he added.

Hardik Matalia, Derivative Analyst at Choice Broking, said, "After a positive opening, Nifty can find support at 24,000, followed by 23,900 and 23,800. On the higher side, 24,200 can be an immediate resistance, followed by 24,350 and 24,500."

Global Markets

Asian stock markets struggled to hold their footing on Tuesday after a sharp flight from U.S. assets undermined Wall Street and the dollar, while concerns over the independence of the Federal Reserve piled fresh pressure on U.S. Treasuries. President Donald Trump's increasingly vocal attacks on Fed Chair Jerome Powell for not cutting interest rates caused Wall Street indexes to shed around 2.5% on Monday, with the dollar hitting a three-year low.

The fallout saw Japan's Nikkei ease 0.3%, while MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan dipped 0.2%. Chinese blue chips were holding steady for now. European shares were less fortunate, with futures for the EUROSTOXX 50, FTSE, and DAX all down around 0.7% in choppy trading.

FII/DII Tracker

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 1,970.17 crore on April 21, while Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) purchased equities worth Rs 246.59 crore on the same day.

Crude Oil

Oil prices climbed in early trade on Tuesday as investors took advantage of Monday’s losses to cover short positions. However, concerns persist over economic headwinds from tariffs and U.S. monetary policy that could dampen fuel demand. Brent crude futures rose 51 cents, or 0.8%, to $66.77 a barrel at 00:45 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was at $63.59 a barrel, also up 51 cents, or 0.8%. Both benchmarks had dropped more than 2% on Monday amid signs of progress in U.S.-Iran nuclear deal talks, which helped ease supply concerns.

Rupee vs Dollar

The Indian rupee fell 4 paise to 85.19 against the U.S. dollar in early trade. Meanwhile, the dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major world currencies, declined 0.18% to 98.1.