India’s benchmark equity indices opened higher on Wednesday, showing resilience despite continued foreign investor outflows and geopolitical uncertainty stemming from the war in West Asia.
The Nifty 50 rose 51.75 points, or 0.22 per cent, to open at 23,632.90, while the Sensex gained 296.71 points, or 0.39 per cent, to start the session at 76,367.55.
Ajay Bagga, banking and market expert, said, “Indian markets have been resilient over the last two days, bouncing back from extreme pessimism and oversold levels. Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) have countered outflows of over Rs 70,000 crore from foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) in the cash equity segment in March.”
“The resilience of the Indian market recovery will depend on the scale and duration of the disruption in oil and gas markets. That remains a major known unknown, and markets are not fully pricing in a prolonged disruption for now,” he added.
Bagga also said the US Federal Reserve’s policy meeting is the key economic event of the week.
“The US Fed meeting is the biggest economic event of the week. The Fed is expected to remain on hold, with markets factoring in one rate cut towards the end of 2026,” he said.
Among broader indices, the Nifty 100 rose 0.65 per cent, the Nifty Midcap 100 advanced 0.98 per cent, and the Nifty Smallcap 100 gained 1 per cent.
Sectoral indices also traded higher across the board. The Nifty Auto index surged 1.38 per cent, Nifty FMCG rose 0.48 per cent, Nifty IT jumped more than 2.3 per cent, Nifty Pharma gained 0.42 per cent, Nifty PSU Bank advanced 1 per cent, and Nifty Consumer Durables climbed 0.95 per cent.
VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services, said the uncertainty surrounding the war continues to cloud market outlook.
“With total uncertainty and confusion regarding the trajectory of the war, this lack of clarity is being reflected in the markets as well. Even seasoned experts lack the conviction to advise investors on the right strategy,” he said.
“All that can be said with conviction now is: remain invested and continue with SIPs,” he added.
Meanwhile, crude oil prices remained elevated, trading at around USD 103 per barrel at the time of filing this report, adding to global concerns.
In the commodities market, gold prices were on a downward trend, trading at Rs 1,55,743 per 10 grams for 24-carat gold. Silver prices also declined to Rs 2,51,301 per kg.
Asian markets traded mostly higher. Japan’s Nikkei 225 surged 2.21 per cent, Singapore’s Straits Times gained 0.94 per cent, Taiwan’s Weighted Index rose 1.56 per cent, and South Korea’s KOSPI rallied 3.84 per cent.
However, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index slipped marginally by 0.16 per cent.
In the US, major indices ended higher on Tuesday. The Dow Jones rose 0.1 per cent, the S&P 500 gained 0.25 per cent, and the Nasdaq advanced 0.47 per cent.
(With inputs from ANI)
