INDIA STOCKS-Indian shares snap losing run in broad rally after Fed rate cut

By Bharath Rajeswaran

Dec 11 (Reuters) - Indian benchmark shares closed higher on Thursday in a broad-based rebound after the Federal Reserve's 25-basis-point rate cut, following a three-session slide, even as the rupee slumped to a record low on worries over the lack of a U.S. trade deal.

The Nifty 50 .NSEI rose 0.55% to 25,898.55 while the BSE Sensex .BSESN gained 0.51% to 84,818.13.

Both benchmarks had lost about 1.6% each in the last three sessions.

On the day, fifteen of the 16 major sectors advanced. The broader small-caps .NIFSMCP100 and mid-caps .NIFMDCP100 rose 0.8% and 1%.

Financials .NIFTYFIN and information technology .NIFTYIT gained 0.6% and 0.8%, after losing 1.7% and 2.4%, respectively in the last three sessions.

Metals .NIFTYMET gained 1.1%, tracking firmer metal prices due to a weakening U.S. dollar after the Fed rate cut. MET/L

While the Fed's projection of only one cut in 2026 underscores caution, the rate cut boosts global liquidity and improves market confidence, said Ross Maxwell, global strategy operations lead at VT Markets.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell's balanced outlook on future rate trajectory eased market nerves about a hawkish message, but the rate cut "alone cannot offset the structural headwinds for the Indian rupee from higher tariffs and U.S. yields," said Rajeev Sharan, head of criteria of model development and research at Brickwork Ratings.

The rupee INR=IN weakened to a record low against the U.S. dollar, as the absence of a trade deal with the U.S. and dollar outflows added to the pressure on the currency.

Among individual stocks, Tata Steel TISC.NS gained 2.6% after it bought a stake in iron ore pellets maker Thriveni Pellets, a deal expected to secure iron ore pellets supply for the firm.

India's top silver producer Hindustan Zinc HZNC.NS and its parent Vedanta VDAN.NS rose 2% and 1% after silver prices surged to a record high.

Wires and cables maker KEI Industries KEIN.NS rose 2.5% after beginning the first phase of commercial production of cables at its Ahmedabad unit.