Indian equity indices opened higher for the second straight session on Thursday amid mixed global cues, led by strong gains in Larsen & Toubro (L&T), HDFC Bank, and Reliance Industries. The S&P BSE Sensex was trading 145 points or 0.22% higher at 66,264. The Nifty50 was up 39 points or 0.20% at 19,755. L&T, Bharti Airtel, Axis Bank, and Tata Steel opened in the green, while Tech Mahindra, Asian Paints, Bajaj Finance, and IndusInd Bank opened in the red. Dixon Technologies rose 2% after its arm, Padget Electronics, entered into an agreement with Xiaomi for making smartphones.
Sector-wise, Nifty Metal rose 0.81% and Nifty Realty surged 0.43%. However, FMCG, IT, and media sectors opened lower. In the broader market, Nifty Midcap100 gained 0.09%, and Smallcap100 advanced 0.62%.
Expert V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services, warned that despite the market showing resilience, the underlying sentiment is weak. Factors like the dollar index at 106.59, the U.S. 10-year bond yield at 4.62%, and Brent crude above $97 are strong headwinds that can pull the market down. Vijayakumar suggested that investors be cautious at this stage and consider profit booking in mid-and small-cap stocks that have had sharp gains.
Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research at HDFC Securities, added that the Nifty could face resistance in the 19,798-19,849 band, while 19,637 could offer support in the near term.
In global markets, oil prices reached one-year highs, while world stocks were on track for their longest losing streak in two years. Investors sought refuge in the safety of a surging U.S. dollar amid concerns of persistently high interest rates. Asia-Pacific shares, excluding Japan, hovered near a 10-month low, with Japan’s Nikkei falling 1.9% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng declining 1.2%. In the U.S., the S&P 500 saw marginal movement, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 68 points and the Nasdaq composite rose 0.2%.
In terms of foreign investment, Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) sold Rs 354 crore of shares, while domestic investors bought Rs 386 crore of shares on Wednesday, as per provisional exchange data.
Oil prices rose in early Asian trade, with Brent crude futures climbing 64 cents to $95 a barrel and US West Texas Intermediate crude futures (WTI) rising 99 cents to $94.67. The Indian rupee rose 1 paisa against the US dollar, trading at $83.21. The dollar index, which tracks the movement of the greenback against a basket of six major world currencies, increased to 106.68 level.
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