Indian stock indices started off Wednesday’s session marginally higher, extending gains for the fourth consecutive session. The upbeat start was fueled by positive overnight cues from US markets.

At 9:27 am, the benchmark Sensex was trading at 73,193.81, up 89.20 points or 0.12%, while the Nifty rose 37.35 points or 0.17% to 22,255.20. All major sectoral indices, barring Nifty financial services and Nifty private bank, opened higher.

Over the last week, indices had slumped consistently, which analysts asserted was due to a strong US dollar, uncertainty over the outcome of the ongoing Lok Sabha elections due to a declining voter turnout trend, and profit-booking after the recent rally.

“Clarity on election trends is likely before the counting day on June 4th, which could prompt a strong market response. Adopting a buy-on-dips strategy seems prudent now. FII-heavy stocks battered by foreign institutional selling present good bottom-fishing opportunities. Leading banks, capital goods majors, top automakers, and IT giants like TCS offer fundamental strength,” said V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) turned net sellers of Indian equities for the ninth straight session on Tuesday. However, domestic institutional investors remained net buyers for a fortnight, offsetting outflows from foreign investors.

FPIs have been net sellers in Indian stocks lately after being net buyers for three consecutive months until mid-April. NSDL data showed FPIs cumulatively sold equities worth Rs 8,671 crore in the second half of April. So far in May, their net selling has totaled Rs 22,767 crore.

Meanwhile, Asian markets rose on Wednesday, tracking a strong rally on Wall Street, as investors awaited key US inflation data that could offer clues on the Federal Reserve’s future monetary policy stance.

(Inputs from ANI)