Nifty, Sensex open flat after Tuesday’s IT-led surge; crude, FII selling cap gains
Nifty 50 opened at 22,715.75 and was at 22,698.25, down 23.70, at 9:26 am. Sensex opened at 73,049.76 and fell to 73,020.19, down 13.59
Benchmarks opened flat on Wednesday as foreign institutional selling and high crude oil prices dampened the momentum from the previous day's sharp recovery. The Nifty 50 began at 22,715.75, now trading at 22,698.25, down 23.70 points or 0.10% at 9.26 am. The Sensex opened at 73,049.76 but slipped to 73,020.19, down 13.59 points or 0.02% against its previous close of 73,033.78.
The muted start followed Tuesday's broad-based rebound when the Nifty closed at 22,721.95, up 358.60 points or 1.60%, and the Sensex jumped around 1,100 points. Information technology stocks were the main drivers of that recovery after HCL Technologies delivered better-than-expected quarterly results, which sent HCL Tech up 8% and TCS up 6.6%.
The IT index climbed over 5% on Tuesday, with Metal, PSU Bank, Auto, Consumer Durables, and Realty each gaining around 1%. Energy and Pharma ended in the red. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's remarks at the Bloomberg New Economy Forum added to Tuesday's rally, hinting at possible revisions to the capital gains tax framework.
However, the market's rally may struggle to persist due to the US 10-year bond yield around 5.2% and Brent crude at $106. IT stocks remained attractive in early Wednesday trade, with TCS up 2.69% to ₹2,318, Infosys up 1.76% to ₹1,080.80, and HCL Tech up 1.23% to ₹1,342.30. Coal India gained 1.54% to ₹414.80, while Nestle India rose 1.31% to ₹1,351.50.
Financial and pharmaceutical stocks faced selling pressure, with Shriram Finance the top Nifty loser down 2.41% to ₹964.20, followed by Bajaj Finance down 1.40% to ₹969.00, and HDFC Life down 1.02% to ₹554.30. Pharmaceutical stocks like Dr. Reddy's Laboratories dropped 1.24% to ₹1,224.60 and Sun Pharma fell 0.98% to ₹1,753.30. The RBI's intervention to curb speculation and ease dollar demand pushed the rupee to around ₹95.28 per dollar on Tuesday, but foreign institutional investors continued their 13-session streak of selling, recording net outflows of about ₹1,305 crore, though the pace slowed.
Domestic institutional investors countered with purchases exceeding ₹2,439 crore. Vijayakumar noted that sectors like financials, telecom, metals, and automobiles, likely to report strong Q2 numbers, would remain resilient. Brent crude was trading between $105 and $106, with geopolitical risks from attacks in Saudi Arabia and Yemen adding to inflation concerns.
The next major trigger for the market will be US consumer price index data, which could further lift the dollar and bond yields.
Written by urgent.news from Hindu BusinessLine's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
