Indian stock markets open flat amid weak global cues, tension between Iran and US

NEW DELHI: Indian stock markets opened on a cautious note on Thursday, reflecting weak global cues and rising geopolitical tensions between Iran and the United States. Investors remained on edge as global sentiment turned negative, keeping domestic indices in check during early trade.

The benchmark Nifty 50 index opened at 25,164.45, gaining 23.05 points or 0.09 per cent, while the BSE Sensex index started at 82,571.67, up by 56.53 points or 0.07 per cent.

Ajay Bagga, banking and market expert, said, “Geopolitical concerns are at Centre stage today with both the US and Iran taking strident positions ahead of the meeting over the weekend. This is again noise, as we have seen repeatedly over the last few weeks, with an imminent Israeli strike on Iran being a big risk”.

He further said, “We feel this is noise ahead of the third round of talks, in a bid to get the most favourable negotiation terms by both sides. An attack on Iran will plunge the entire region into a massive retaliation chaos, and no sane government will want that to happen, including the Chinese and Russian allies of Iran”.

Despite the slight uptick in the headline indices, broader market sentiment remained subdued. On the NSE, the Nifty Next 50 was down marginally by 0.02 per cent soon after opening. The Nifty Smallcap index slipped 0.05 per cent, and the Nifty Midcap index declined by 0.06 per cent, indicating pressure in the wider market.

Sectoral performance was mixed, with most indices in the red except Nifty Media and Nifty Pharma, which managed to stay positive in the early session. Among the laggards, Nifty IT fell by 0.43 per cent, Nifty Realty declined 0.21 per cent, and Nifty Metal was down by 0.25 per cent. The Nifty FMCG index traded flat in the opening hours.

Commenting on the market trend, Akshay Chinchalkar, Head of Research at Axis Securities, noted that although the Nifty ended higher yesterday, it slipped from its intraday peak.

He said, “Technically speaking, yesterday’s candle was a doji with a slightly longer upper shadow immediately following the ‘upside-gap two crows’ pattern, so the onus is on bulls to protect 25029 in the near-term. If bears are able to drag the index below the 24987 – 25029 zone, a test of the 24800 – 24863 area will become a high probability event”.

Other Asian markets also presented a mixed picture in Thursday’s trade. Japan’s Nikkei 225 index dropped 0.5 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell 0.56 per cent, and Taiwan Weighted index lost 0.8 per cent. In contrast, South Korea’s Kospi index gained 0.9 per cent, offering some relief to the otherwise cautious sentiment in Asia. (ANI)