The Indian equity benchmark indices opened higher on Monday, supported by mixed global cues. Buying activity was observed in the PSU bank and financial services sectors during early trade.
At around 9:30 AM, the Sensex was up by 400.7 points or 0.51%, reaching 79,613.28, while the Nifty gained 88.65 points or 0.37%, standing at 24,128.00.
The Nifty Bank index rose by 347.85 points or 0.64%, reaching 55,011.90. The Nifty Midcap 100 index was up by 230.80 points or 0.43%, trading at 53,801.00. However, the Nifty Smallcap 100 index saw a slight decline of 28.55 points or 0.17%, reaching 16,518.65.
While the situation at the India-Pakistan border remains a concern for market participants, foreign portfolio investor (FPI) inflows are continuing to lend strong support to Indian equities. Although selling pressure from high net-worth individuals (HNIs) last week kept the markets under some stress, overall sentiment appears to be improving with the start of the new week.
Ajay Bagga, Banking and Market Expert, said, “FPI flows are continuing to support Indian markets along with steady domestic institutional investor (DII) flows. With no major Offer for Sale (OFS) or Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) absorbing liquidity, markets are benefiting from these inflows. However, last week we witnessed declines in both the leading and broader indices, despite positive numbers from both FPIs and DIIs. This suggests that there were outflows from proprietary desks and HNI segments due to heightened geopolitical tensions in the Indian subcontinent.”
On the earnings front, several major companies are scheduled to announce their fourth-quarter and full-year results today. These include UltraTech Cement, Indian Railway Finance Corporation, Adani Green Energy Limited, TVS Motor Company, IDBI Bank, Adani Total Gas, Oberoi Realty, Hexaware Technologies, Nippon Life India Asset Management, and UCO Bank. Investors will closely monitor these results for cues on future market direction.
“Investors turned cautious, causing the Nifty to fall below 24,200, as escalating India-Pakistan tensions following the Pahalgam terror attack unsettled sentiment. The Nifty is currently hovering near a support level; a breakdown below 23,800 would signal a continuation of the downtrend. However, with the index currently trading above 24,000, further upward movement remains possible. Technically, as prices remain above all key moving averages, an uptrend is indicated,” said Sunil Gurjar, SEBI-registered research analyst and founder of Alphamojo Financial Services.
Elsewhere in Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose by 0.44 per cent, Taiwan’s Weighted Index gained 0.62 per cent, and South Korea’s KOSPI stayed marginally positive. However, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index slipped by 0.13 per cent at the time of this report. (ANI)
