Asian share markets advanced on Thursday after a well-flagged US rate rise delivered no major surprises, although policymakers in Europe and Japan could pose risks for markets with their own interest rate decisions.

The Nikkei is trading 0.4% higher, and the Hang Seng index is trading 1.4% higher. While Shanghai Index is trading 0.4% higher.

US stocks shrugged off the latest Federal Reserve interest rate hike on Wednesday, finishing little-changed after a choppy session.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.2% higher, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite ended 0.1% lower.

Here's a table showing how US stocks performed on Wednesday:

Source: Equitymaster

Back home, Indian share markets are trading on a positive note today.

At present, the BSE Sensex is trading higher by 70 points. Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty is trading up by 32 points.

Cipla, Hindalco, and Sun Pharma are among the top gainers today.

Tech Mahindra, HUL, and M&M on the other hand are among the top losers today.

Broader markets are trading on a positive note. The BSE Mid Cap index and the BSE Small Cap index are trading 0.6% higher.

Barring the auto sector, all sectoral indices are trading on a positive note today with stocks in the healthcare sector, and the metal sector witnessing the most buying.

Shares of Colgate and L&T hit their 52-week high today.

The rupee is trading at Rs 81.98 against the US dollar.

In commodity markets, gold prices are trading higher by 0.2% at Rs 59,583 per 10 grams today.

Meanwhile, silver prices are trading 0.8% higher at Rs 75,940 per 1 kg.
 

Fed hikes rates to a 16-year high

The Federal Reserve raised interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point on Wednesday, citing still elevated inflation as a rationale for what is now the highest US central bank policy rate in 16 years.

The rate hike, the Fed's 11th in its last 12 meetings, set the benchmark overnight interest rate in the 5.25%-5.50% range, and the accompanying policy statement left the door open to another increase.

Though inflation data since the Fed's meeting in June has been weaker than expected, policymakers have been reluctant to alter their hawkish stance until there is more progress in reducing price pressures.

Key measures of inflation remain more than double the Fed's target, and the economy by many measures, including a low 3.6% unemployment rate, continues to outperform expectations given the rapid increase in interest rates.

The US government on Thursday is expected to report the economy grew at a 1.8% annual pace in the second quarter.
 

Govt to sell stake in Rail Vikas Nigam

The Indian government will sell a stake of up to 5.36% in state-owned Rail Vikas Nigam this week, in a deal that could fetch Rs 13.3 bn (US$ 162.12 m), an exchange filing showed on Wednesday.

The government, which owns a 78.2% stake in RVNL, has proposed to sell a 3.4% holding in the state-run railway infrastructure company, with an option to sell 1.96% more if oversubscribed.

The floor price for the sale has been set at Rs 119 per share, representing an over 11% discount to Rail Vikas stock's closing price on Wednesday. Out of its Rs 510 bn divestment target for 2023/24, the government has garnered 42.3 billion rupees through the sale of shares in other state-run firms.

In May, the Indian government sold a 3% stake in Coal India.

The company's cash and bank balances of Rs 18.5 bn stand at 7.2% of its market cap, making it among the top 5 cash-rich midcap stocks.

With the highest revenue and profit growth in the government sector, it is among the top 5 PSU companies in India by growth.
 

M&M picks up stake in RBL Bank

Diversified business conglomerate Mahindra and Mahindra (M&M) has picked up a 3.53 percent stake in private sector lender, RBL Bank for Rs 4.2 bn.

Shares of RBL Bank jumped 7.1% to settle at Rs 238.8 apiece on the BSE on Wednesday, close to their 52-week high of Rs. 242.1.

The Reserve Bank of India's (RBI's) norms caps non-promoter shareholding (except supranational institutions, public sector undertaking, or government), either natural persons or non-financial institutions, in a bank at 10%.

However, non-promoters need prior approval from the regulator to increase their stake to 5% or more. Moreover, business houses that have more than 40% of their income or revenue from non-financial activities are not allowed to become a bank.

The rationale behind M&M's investment in RBL Bank is not known. An email sent to an M&M spokesperson in this regard did not elicit a response. RBL Bank, too, did not respond to queries about M&M's move to acquire a stake in the bank.

The Mahindra group is in the financial services sector primarily through its arm Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services - a non-banking finance company.

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