Indian stock markets rose to all time high as Reliance Industries, ITC and TCS posted strong gains. At the closing bell yesterday, the BSE Sensex closed higher by 217 points. While, the NSE Nifty finished higher by 51 points led by software stocks and FMCG stocks.

As the markets continue to rally, corporate earnings of June quarter will be crucial for the NSE Nifty index to touch the 10,000 mark today.

Index heavyweights like Axis Bank, Asian Paints, Bharti Airtel and Hero Motocorp should be in focus today as the companies announce their Q1 earnings during the market hours.

The markets are touching record highs every day. It makes sense to sit back and evaluate if the fundamentals are in place for such heady growth. When one looks at corporate earnings over the past 5 years, it paints a different picture.

US Fed Policy Meeting

Investors will also turn focus to the decision on interest rates post a two-day meeting of the US Federal Reserve which is scheduled for today and tomorrow. The Federal Open Market Committee is not expected to raise key interest rate.

The Fed also announced plans to start gradually paring its bond holdings later this year, a move that could cause long-term rates to rise. Over the last few weeks investors have focused what the European Central Bank will do as the European economy continues to improve. The Fed had raised the target range for its federal funds rate by 25 basis points (bps) to 1-1.25% during its June 2017 meeting.

Gold Surges as Dollar Struggles

The dollar struggled near a 13-month low against a basket of major currencies as US political turmoil dampened hopes for quick passage of President Donald Trump’s stimulus and tax reform agendas and the euro extended gains. Meanwhile, euro hit 23-month high.

Gold prices rallied to trade at almost four-week high at the bullion market. A weaker dollar makes dollar-denominated gold less expensive for holders of other currencies.