The US Federal Reserve took a hawkish pause on Wednesday when it decided to leave interest rates unchanged. However, it said two more rate hikes would be coming this year. The central bankers said they will take another six weeks to see the impacts of the policy moves as the US Fed fights an inflation battle that lately has shown some promising, if uneven signs.

The US markets ended mixed after the US Fed skipped the rate hike and indicated more rate hikes in the future. Dow Jones ended 232 points down, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq ended in the green.

Nifty continued to trend higher, ending above 18755. It is now up 10.6 percent from the lows in March 2023 and it is less than 150 points away from all time-highs. The uptrend could continue now that the big US Fed event is out of the way.

Foreign investors continued to buy in cash for the third day in a row. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought Rs 1,714 crore in cash market while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) sold Rs 654 crore in cash on Wednesday.

In stock action today, Axis Bank is in focus as sources have indicated that Bain Capital is likely to sell its stake of up to $267 million in Axis Bank via a block deal.

And finally, in other news outside the stock market, a red alert that has been issued for the Saurashtra and Kutch coasts todayas Gujarat braces for one of the worst cyclones that has hit the state in the last 25 years. The very severe cyclonic storm Biparjoy is slated to make a landfall by today evening between the Mandvi and Karachi coast near the Jakhau port. Stay safe everyone!