At 09:29 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 28.37 points or 0.04% to 63,551.52. The Nifty 50 index gained 16.25 points or 0.08% to 18,873.10.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index added 0.05% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index rose 0.33%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 1,770 shares rose and 862 shares fell. A total of 115 shares were unchanged.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth Rs 4,013.10 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net buyers to the tune of Rs 550.36 crore in the Indian equity market on 21 June, provisional data showed.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) rose 0.20%. The IT major expand its partnership with Nest, UK's largest workplace pension scheme to focus on digitally transforming Nest's scheme administration services, delivering enhanced member experiences and furthering the scheme's mission of delivering better retirement outcomes for people across the UK. The contract value was signed for £840 million with an initial tenure of 10 years. The total maximum estimated value of the contract, if extended to the entirety of its eighteen-year tenure, will be £1.5 billion.

Kalpataru Projects International added 0.83%. The board of directors of the company has approved the issuance of unsecured, rated, listed, redeemable, non-convertible debentures of Rs 300 crore on private placement basis.

JK Tyre & Industries advanced 1.33%. India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra) has upgraded the company's Long-Term Issuer Rating to ‘IND A+' from ‘IND A'. The rating outlook has also been revised to Stable from Negative.

Delhivery rallied 3.23% after Global private equity firm Carlyle is reportedly planning to sell a stake of 2.53% it holds in Delhivery via block deal. The deal size will be of around 1.84 crore shares, amounting to $86 billion, as per reports.

Numbers to Watch:

The yield on India's 10-year benchmark federal paper rose 0.17% to 7.065 from previous close of 7.053.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged higher against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 81.9400, compared with its close of 82.0125 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 4 August 2023 settlement declined 0.13% to Rs 58,638.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was down 0.05% to 102.02.

The United States 10-year bond yield advanced 0.10% to 3.727.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for August 2023 settlement fell 26 cents or 0.34% to $76.86 a barrel.

Global Market:

Most of the Asian stocks declined after US Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell stuck to his recent hawkish tone as investors assess the future rate policy path from the Fed. Elsewhere, markets in Hong Kong and mainland China, as well as Taiwan are closed for a holiday Thursday.

U.S. stocks closed lower on Wednesday as Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's congressional testimony reinforced the central bank's objective to rein in inflation as he hinted at the likelihood of further interest rate hikes. Powell is scheduled to testify before the Senate Banking Committee on Thursday.

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell on Wednesday said he and his colleagues expect more interest rate increases ahead as inflation is still too high. “Inflation pressures continue to run high, and the process of getting inflation back down to 2% has a long way to go,” he said in prepared remarks for a hearing before the House Financial Services Committee. Powell noted that “nearly all” policymakers figure additional hikes will be needed to bring inflation closer in line to the Fed's 2% target.