Indian Stocks Rise At Opening Bell After Mild Profit Booking Previous Session

New Delhi [India] : After a mild correction in the previous session, Indian stock indices were back in the green at the opening bell on Wednesday.

At 9.19 am, Sensex was at 74,887.25 points, up 203.55 points or 0.27 per cent, while Nifty was at 22,698.25 points, up 55.50 points or 0.25 per cent. Among the widely-tracked Nifty 50 stocks, 35 advanced, 13 declined and the rest two remained unchanged.

Indian stocks extended positive momentum last week, the first week of the new financial year that started on April 1.

Going ahead, India's retail inflation data for March will be released on Friday and heat wave alerts from the weather bureau will be keenly watched by investors, for fresh market cues.
Retail inflation in India is at RBI's two-six per cent comfort level but is above the ideal 4 per cent scenario. In February, it was 5.09 per cent.

Inflation has been a concern for many countries, including advanced economies, but India has largely managed to steer its inflation trajectory quite well.

Further, sustained inflows of funds by foreign portfolio investors also supported Indian stock markets.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) have become net buyers for the second month in March in Indian stock markets. They had aggressively sold Indian stocks and turned net sellers in the Indian equity market in January 2024.

The latest data from the National Securities Depository Limited (NSDL) showed that the FPIs bought stocks worth Rs 35,098 crore in March. In February, they bought stocks worth Rs 1,539 crore.

So far in April, they bought stocks worth Rs 1,590 crore, NSDL data showed.

"Volatility is expected in today's trading due to significant US events, including the release of March US CPI and the minutes of the Fed's March FOMC meeting. Positive factors such as expectations of robust Q4 corporate earnings and a pre-election rally are supporting the market," said Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities Ltd.

According to VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services, "The hallmark of a bull market is its ability to set new record highs. This has been happening in the mother market US and also in the Indian market. An important feature of the recent rally in India is that it is led by fundamentally strong sectors like capital goods, automobiles, banking and metals. The robustness of the Indian economy, the sustained capital flows into mutual funds and the enthusiasm of domestic investors can support the rally. However, valuations of the Smallcap segment are elevated and unjustified."

Indian stock markets will be closed on Thursday, for Eid Celebrations.

Santosh Meena, Head of Research at Swastika Investmart Ltd, says several factors, including central banks around the world implementing interest rate cuts, while governments enacting fiscal stimulus packages to bolster their economies during the COVID-19 crisis supported the market.

"This strategy proved effective, leading to a robust economic recovery in India. Currently, India boasts the fastest-growing economy globally, with a promising future fueled by political stability. We appear to be in the midst of a major bull market, which is likely to persist for the next few years. The Sensex reaching 100,000 seems like a realistic possibility in the near future. However, investors should prioritise quality stocks while maintaining a long-term investment approach," Santosh Meena said.