NEW DELHI: Indian stocks were largely steady Thursday morning as investors seemed to be holding back from putting more money into the markets in the short run. The stock indices have been hitting their all-time highs and are at their peaks currently. The benchmark Sensex and Nifty were just 0.1 per cent in morning trade.
Last week, the indices accumulated around 3 per cent gains each, their highest in months, and hit their fresh all-time highs. Notably, Sensex crossed the 65,000 mark for the first time this week. The consistent inflow of foreign funds, firm economic outlook, and moderation in inflation supported Indian stocks recently.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) have remained net buyers in Indian stock markets for the fourth straight month, according to data from the National Securities Depository (NSDL). The FPIs bought Indian stocks worth Rs 7,936 crore, Rs 11,631 crore, Rs 43,838 crore, and Rs 47,148 crore in March, April, May, and June, respectively, data showed.
“An important trend in the market is the surge in retail investor participation, as indicated by the sharp increase in new demat accounts (2.36 million) opened in June. New retail investors jumping on to the market bandwagon normally happens at the peak of a rally. This is a sign for caution”, said V K Vijayakumar, chief investment strategist at Geojit Financial Services.
“Two-wheeler sales in June indicate that demand continues to be a problem in rural areas. In brief, the macroeconomic scenario, though good, is not so bullish as to warrant continuation of the rally, which has already run a bit ahead of fundamentals”.
“Investors should not chase low-grade small-cap stocks at this juncture. Stay invested in high-quality large-caps. Wait for the Q1 results for direction”, he suggested.
The US stocks ended lower on Wednesday with the S&P 500 snapping a three-day winning streak after the minutes of the Federal Reserve’s last policy meeting showed almost all participants expected additional interest-rate increases.
The US Federal Reserve’s monetary policy committee paused the key interest rate in its latest meeting on Wednesday. The policy rate has been maintained at 5.0-5.25 per cent, which was near zero after the outbreak of Covid-19.
Barring the latest pause, the US central bank has hiked the interest rate for the tenth consecutive time which was necessitated in the fight against soaring inflation. (ANI)