Mumbai: Domestic benchmark indices opened flat on Friday amid negative Asian cues. Selling was witnessed in IT and auto sectors in early trade. According to analysts, steady institutional inflows from both FIIs and DIIs are keeping the market stable even in the absence of positive triggers. The current consolidation phase is likely to continue in the near term.
At around 9.29 am, the Sensex was trading 11.77 points or 0.01 per cent higher at 81,644.79, while the Nifty was up 13.20 points or 0.05 per cent at 24,846.80. Nifty Bank was up 81.20 points or 0.15 per cent at 55,627.25. The Nifty Midcap 100 index was trading 250.40 points or 0.44 per cent higher at 57,707.65. The Nifty Smallcap 100 index was up 37.75 points, or 0.21 per cent, at 17,927.15.
According to analysts, the Nifty recorded a spectacular recovery in the final minutes of trade on Thursday, after the index was trading in the red at half-time earlier. Akshay Chinchalkar, Head of Research, Axis Securities, said, “While the Nifty is still trapped in a range bound market between 24,462 and 25,116, yesterday’s pullback traced a long lower shadow and a small real body close to the day’s high. This is a bullish signal. Immediate support and resistance are at 24677 and 25000, respectively.”
Meanwhile, Infosys, Tech Mahindra, HCL Tech, Bajaj Finance, IndusInd Bank, Bharti Airtel, Titan and Hindustan Unilever Ltd were the top losers in the Sensex pack. While, Adani Ports, Eternal, Maruti Suzuki and Sun Pharma were the top gainers.
In Asian markets, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Seoul, China and Japan were trading in the red. In the US markets, the Dow Jones closed at 42,215.73 with a gain of 117.03 points or 0.28 percent in the last trading session. The S&P 500 index closed at 5,912.17 with a gain of 23.62 points or 0.40 percent and the Nasdaq closed at 19,175.87 with a gain of 74.93 points or 0.39 percent.
Dr. VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments Limited, said, “Investors should understand two different big trends that will impact the market: First, the indicators reflecting India’s economic condition remain strong and are improving. Second, this positive trend in these indicators is not visible in corporate earnings.”
This is the basic reason for the market remaining range bound. On the institutional front, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net buyers and bought equities worth Rs 884.03 crore on May 29, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought equities worth Rs 4,286.50 crore.
According to market watchers, steadily improving macros such as strong GDP growth, declining inflation and interest rates, and narrowing fiscal and current account deficits lay the foundation for a strong economy and earnings recovery in the medium term.
