New Delhi [India], July 29 (ANI): The rally in Indian stocks continued for the third straight day on Friday, supported by a rise in Nifty IT, metal, auto, and realty indices. In early trade, the benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty rose around 1 per cent each. The ongoing rise in stock was witnessed despite the 75 basis points policy rate hike by the US Federal Reserve to tame an over four-decade high inflation.

Adding to the woes, real gross domestic product (GDP) in the US decreased at an annual rate of 0.9 per cent in the second quarter of 2022 (April-June), marking the second consecutive quarter of degrowth which qualifies for a technical recession. In the January-March quarter, real GDP decreased 1.6 per cent, US Bureau of Economic Analysis data showed.

“In India, the big positive for the market is the FIIs reducing their selling substantially and even turning buyers for 8 days this month,” V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist.

For the record, Indian equity markets recorded their best weekly performance during the past week, supported by renewed buying, especially in banking and Information Technology stocks as well as the return of foreign investments into the Indian markets after months.

The domestic equity market closed at its highest level in seven weeks, marking its best week since February 2021. Sensex and Nifty during the week rose around 3-4 per cent on a cumulative basis.

Other Asian markets too traded on a positive note as investors follow a negative US gross domestic product report, which suggests the US Fed would be less aggressive in its monetary policy tightening cycle, said Mohit Nigam, Head – PMS, Hem Securities.

On the other hand, the Indian currency rupee has retreated from its historical low of 80 against the US dollar. At the time of writing this report, the rupee traded at 79.368 per US dollar. (ANI)