Sensex and Nifty Open Flat After Record Highs
New Delhi, India – A day after setting new records, the benchmark Sensex and Nifty indices opened flat on Wednesday but continued to trade near their all-time highs. The Nifty opened at 23,723.10, down by 10.60 points or 0.04%, while the Sensex opened at 78,094.02.
Sectoral Performance
At the National Stock Exchange (NSE), sectors like Financial Services, IT, Media, and Private Banks opened in green. However, sectors such as Auto, FMCG, Metal, Pharma, and PSU Banks opened in the red.
On the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), companies like UltraTech Cement, ICICI, NTPC, Bajaj Finance, Kotak Bank, Bajaj Finserve, Tata Motors, Hindustan Unilever, Adani Ports, Axis Bank, Bharti Airtel, ITC, and Reliance opened in green. On the other hand, Asian Paints, Titan, and Maruti Suzuki opened in the red.
Previous Day’s Performance
On Tuesday, Indian benchmark indices closed significantly higher after reaching new record levels earlier in the day. The Sensex surged 712.44 points or 0.92% to finish at 78,053.52, while the Nifty 50 gained 183.45 points or 0.78%, closing at 23,721.30. The Nifty 50 showed a bullish trend, suggesting potential for a breakout above the 23,600 to 23,700 levels.
Expert Opinions
Market experts attribute the upswing to RBI data showing a current account surplus of USD 5.7 billion for the fourth quarter of the fiscal year 2023-24. V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services, noted that large-cap private banks offer value buying opportunities and are likely to remain resilient.
Varun Aggarwal, MD of Profit Idea, mentioned that the banking sector remains a key driver of Nifty’s rise, showing resilience despite global market uncertainties.
Global Market Performance
In the Asia-Pacific region, markets showed mixed performance. The Asia Dow rose by 1.66%, Japan’s Nikkei 225 increased by 0.36%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index ended flat. Conversely, China’s Shanghai Composite declined by 0.44%.
Crude oil prices saw slight declines with WTI trading at USD 80.71 and Brent crude at USD 84.82 per barrel. The US Dollar Index (DXY) rose by 0.18% to 105.70.
Political and Economic Outlook
Ajay Bagga, a banking and market expert, highlighted the political events of the week, including UK Elections, US Presidential debate, and the election of the Lok Sabha Speaker. He also noted that US Personal Consumption Expenditure (PCE) Inflation numbers on Friday will set the tone for rate cut expectations.
