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Markets end higher for 4th straight session; investors eye US Fed policy decision
Jun-17-2026

Indian equity benchmarks settled higher on Wednesday, extending their winning streak to a fourth straight session, ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s policy decision. Markets traded higher on value buying in index heavyweights and ended firmly in positive territory despite some intraday profit-booking. Sentiments were supported by lower crude oil prices, with Brent hovering near $79 per barrel, and a stronger rupee driven by increased dollar selling by exporters and banks.

Some of the important factors in trade:

India, Canada aim to finalise free trade agreement by end of 2026: Traders took encouragement as India and Canada have agreed to conclude negotiations for a free trade agreement by the year-end as Prime Minister Narendra Modi held wide-ranging talks with his Canadian counterpart Mark Carney on boosting ties in areas of defence, trade and energy.

Sales of listed private manufacturing companies rise by 14.5% in Q4FY26: Some support came as Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data showed that sales of over 1,800 listed private manufacturing companies expanded by 14.5 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2025-26, mainly driven by automobiles, electrical machinery and non-ferrous metals industries.

India, Sri Lanka discuss ways to enhance trade settlement in local currencies: Market participants took note of report that India and Sri Lanka have discussed ways to enhance trade settlement in local currencies to reduce transaction costs and insulate the bilateral trade from dollar volatility.

Defence stocks were in focus: Ministry of Defence in its latest report has showed that India’s defence sector has achieved a historic milestone, with annual production touching an all-time high of Rs 1.78 lakh crore in FY26, registering a 15.6% growth over Rs 1.54 lakh crore in FY25.

On global front: Asian markets ended mostly higher on easing concerns over the Middle East conflict and sustained buying in AI-related shares ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve's policy decision. European markets were trading mostly in green despite reports that eurozone consumer price inflation held at 3.2% in May 2026, the highest since September 2023.

Finally, the BSE Sensex rose 347.14 points or 0.45% to 77,155.62 and the CNX Nifty was up by 96.55 points or 0.40% to 24,085.70.

The BSE Sensex touched high and low of 77,218.99 and 76,768.49, respectively. There were 20 stocks advancing against 10 stocks declining on the index.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Capital Goods up by 2.76%, Industrials up by 1.83%, Consumer Durables up by 1.39%, Power up by 1.19% and PSU up by 1.17%, while Auto down by 0.50%, Realty down by 0.45%, FMCG down by 0.20% and Utilities down by 0.14% were the few losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Trent up by 7.06%, Bharat Electronics up by 3.06%, Eternal up by 1.95%, Tata Steel up by 1.53% and Infosys up by 1.29%. On the flip side, Bajaj Finserv down by 1.16%, Axis Bank down by 1.09%, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 0.88%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 0.51% and Maruti Suzuki down by 0.45% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, indicating a worrying situation for state finances, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) in its Publication on State Finances 2024-25 has highlighted a sharp increase in states' expenditure over the past decade. It noted that total expenditure of the states increased from Rs 22.18 lakh crore in FY 2015-16 to Rs 51.20 lakh crore in 2024-25, marking a 131 per cent increase. The growth in spending broadly in line with economic growth and driven by spending on welfare and development programmes.  

The report said revenue expenditure continued to dominate budgets, accounting for more than 83 per cent of total spending, while capital expenditure increased in absolute terms but remained a relatively smaller share. Social and economic services together constituted nearly two-thirds of total expenditure, underscoring states' continued emphasis on welfare and developmental activities.  

The report further noted that committed expenditure and subsidies consistently absorbed more than half of revenue expenditure, reaching 53.31 per cent in 2024-25, with subsidies witnessed rapid growth during the period. At the disaggregate level, states' expenditure remained concentrated in 8 object categories -- including 3 types of grants-in-aid, salaries, pensions, interest payments, subsidies and major works -- accounting for nearly 78.46 per cent of total spending and about 12.38 per cent of combined Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP). This highlights the continued dominance of committed and obligatory expenditures in state budgets. 

CNX Nifty touched high and low of 24,108.20 and 23,969.70, respectively. There were 32 stocks advancing against 18 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Trent up by 7.07%, Bharat Electronics up by 3.02%, Hindalco up by 2.60%, Eternal up by 1.89% and Tata Steel up by 1.54%. On the flip side, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles down by 8.30%, Cipla down by 1.63%, ONGC down by 1.29%, Bajaj Finserv down by 1.27% and Axis Bank down by 1.08% were the top losers.

European markets were trading mostly higher; France’s CAC rose 28.93 points or 0.34% to 8,476.20 and Germany’s DAX gained 69.09 points or 0.28% to 24,979.50, while UK’s FTSE 100 was down by 3.68 points or 0.04% to 10,490.53.

Asian markets settled mostly higher on Wednesday as Brent crude futures fell toward $78 per barrel mark on optimism about an end to the US-Iran war and a possible reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, crucial for oil and gas transit worldwide. Meanwhile, investors were awaiting the U.S. Federal Reserve's interest-rate decision under Chairman Kevin Warsh later in the day and Friday's signing of the US-Iran interim peace agreement. Seoul shares rose as falling crude oil prices tempered inflation concerns. Chinese shares gained after PBoC governor Pan Gongsheng unveiled six new financial policy measures at the 2026 Lujiazui Forum to strengthen monetary policy management, stabilize markets, and boost offshore renminbi development. Moreover, Japanese shares advanced after data showed Japan's exports grew at their fastest pace since November 2022 in May, while April's core machinery orders unexpectedly jumped 8.7% month-on-month. Stock market of Malaysia was closed for Islamic New Year (Hijri).

Asian Indices

Last Trade            

Change in Points

Change in %      

Shanghai Composite

4,108.08

16.18

0.40

Hang Seng

24,312.16

-181.79

-0.74

Jakarta Composite

6,220.74

-34.23

-0.55

KLSE Composite

--

--

--

Nikkei 225

69,902.25

497.75

0.72

Straits Times

5,176.46

59.60

1.16

KOSPI Composite

8,864.24

137.64

1.58

Taiwan Weighted

45,877.39

68.20

0.15
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