Indian equity markets opened on a cautious note on Thursday, mirroring hesitant sentiment across major Asian indices, as investors continued to focus on the first-quarter earnings season.
The Nifty 50 index edged up 18.70 points to open at 25,230.75, while the BSE Sensex rose 119.05 points to 82,753.53 in early trade. Though both indices remained in positive territory, traders exercised restraint following mixed signals from global markets and lingering foreign institutional pessimism.
According to banking and market expert Ajay Bagga, geopolitical developments in the United States, coupled with uncertainty over the Federal Reserve leadership, kept global investors on edge. “'Will he, won’t he' was the drama moving markets yesterday,” Bagga said, referring to reports of President Donald Trump mulling the removal of Fed Chair Jerome Powell. “Markets recovered after Trump denied the move but added a footnote, saying, unless Powell is held responsible for fraud. This drama is consuming a lot of attention when there are a host of positives which should be taking the markets up.”
Bagga noted that despite resilient domestic fundamentals, “Indian markets are finding it tough to catch the retail flows and soar due to the continued FPI pessimism, with FPI net short positions once again past the 80 per cent.” He called for policy intervention, adding, “What is needed is a boost to the economy via GST cuts and a fiscal stimulus. Neither are seen on the horizon. One hope is the huge road contracts that NHAI is going to start signing. This will boost employment, cement, steel, construction and infra stocks. Banks should benefit as well.”
Also read: India's exports to US rise 23 pc, imports dip 10 pc in June
Sectoral performance remained largely positive. Nifty Realty led the charge with a gain of 1.11 per cent, followed by Nifty Pharma (0.58%), Nifty Metal (0.26%), Nifty Auto (0.25%) and Nifty Media (0.20%). Nifty IT was marginally in the red, down 0.01 per cent.
Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Equity Research at Kotak Securities, suggested key technical levels to monitor. “We believe 25,100/82,300 will remain a key support zone for traders. As long as the market remains above this level, the bullish trend is likely to persist… Conversely, below 25,100/82,300, the trend may change.”
Several major firms are expected to announce their quarterly results today, including Axis Bank, Wipro, Jio Financial Services, LTIMindtree, HDFC AMC, Indian Hotels, Polycab India, Tata Communications, Ceat, Clean Science & Technology, Newgen Software, and Waaree Renewables, among others.
Internationally, Asian equities reflected a mixed trend. Japan’s Nikkei 225 slipped 0.15 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 0.16 per cent, and South Korea’s KOSPI was down 0.35 per cent. Singapore’s Straits Times gained 0.31 per cent, while Taiwan’s Weighted Index held steady in positive territory.
Meanwhile, on the global trade front, President Trump announced a trade deal with Indonesia, reducing tariffs on its exports to the United States from 32 per cent to 19 per cent. The development was received cautiously by markets, which remained wary of further policy volatility.
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