MUMBAI: Indian stock markets opened flat but with an upward movement trend on the hopes of a year-end rally.
The Nifty 50 index opened at 23,801.40 with a gain of 51.20 points or 0.22 per cent, while the BSE Sensex index gained 135 points or 0.17 per cent to open at 78,607.58 points.
Experts noted that markets have been unable to sustain the opening rally in the past sessions due to selling pressure by foreign investors, which is expected to continue until markets witness strong earnings indicators.
“The Nifty could not sustain its opening advance for the third straight day, with the market failing to break above the 200-day average as it tested the underside. Support sits between 23500 and 23640. Note that a daily close above 24150 – where a down-gap opened up on the 19th of December – is needed for the immediate, prevailing nervousness to be negated” said Akshay Chinchalkar, Head of Research, Axis Securities.
In the sectoral indices on NSE, Nifty Auto surged more than 1 per cent, while other indices also followed and gained during the opening session. In the Nifty 50 list of stocks on NSE, 41 stocks opened in green while 9 declined at the time of filing this report.
Among the Nifty 50 top gainers of the day were Bajaj Auto, Trent, IndusInd Bank, and Tata Motors, while the top losers in the opening session included Apollo Hospital, HCL Tech, TCS, and CIPLA.
“Short-term bumps on the economic growth path will cause corrections and market volatility like what we are witnessing now. The strongest headwind for the market now is the FII selling triggered by strong dollar (dollar index staying above 108) and attractive US bond yields. A change in FII strategy from selling to buying will happen when macros indicate recovery in growth and corporate earnings” said V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services.
As the nation pays homage to Manmohan Singh, the architect of liberalization in India, investors might acknowledge with gratitude the wealth created by the Indian stock market since the initiation of liberalization in 1991.
In other Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei 225 index gained 1.45 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose by 0.03 per cent, while Taiwan Weighted remained flat with a 0.12 per cent gain. South Korea’s KOSPI index, however, declined by 1.43 per cent. (ANI)