New Delhi, Sept. 18 -- The Indian stock market benchmark indices, Sensex and Nifty 50, are likely to open higher on Thursday, after the US Federal Reserve announced an interest rate cut.

The trends on Gift Nifty also indicate a positive start for the Indian benchmark index. The Gift Nifty was trading around 25,512 level, a premium of nearly 88 points from the Nifty futures' previous close.

The US Federal Reserve decided to cut the benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to a range of 4% to 4.25%. The Fed Chair Jerome Powell projected two more quarter-percentage-point cuts this year.

On Wednesday, the domestic equity market ended higher, with the benchmark Nifty 50 closing above 25,300 level.

The Sensex surged 313.02 points, or 0.38...