Sensex, Nifty open higher as FII buying and strong earnings lift mood

Benchmark indices opened higher on Monday as foreign buying and solid earnings supported sentiment. Investors remained watchful of crude oil, the rupee and global rate cues as gains stayed measured.

In Short

• Foreign buying and strong earnings support market gains
• Titan, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank lead Sensex gainers
• Nifty Pharma, Healthcare, IT, Private Banks gain early

Benchmark indices opened higher on Monday, with the Sensex rising more than 100 points and the Nifty 50 holding above the 24,600 mark, as investors took comfort from continued foreign buying and resilient corporate earnings.

The Sensex opened at 78,501.59, against its previous close of 78,499.17, and was trading at 78,616.70, up 117.53 points or 0.15% at around 9:19 am. The index touched an early high of 78,635.15 and a low of 78,494.59.

The Nifty 50 opened at 24,581.25 and was trading at 24,611.95, up 41.30 points or 0.17%. It hit an early high of 24,613.35 and a low of 24,557.95.

Market sentiment was supported by foreign fund buying and expectations of continued earnings growth, although gains remained measured as investors tracked global cues and developments around crude oil prices.

BANKS, IT AND PHARMA LEAD EARLY GAINS

Among Sensex stocks, Titan was the top gainer, rising 1.76%. ICICI Bank gained 1.10%, while Axis Bank advanced 0.75%.

Trent, Hindustan Unilever and Sun Pharma were also among the early gainers.

Other stocks trading higher included Tata Steel, HCLTech, M&M, Tech Mahindra, SBI, Infosys, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Asian Paints and Maruti.

On the other hand, Indigo fell 0.65%, followed by NTPC at 0.59%, Bharti Airtel at 0.59%, Bajaj Finance at 0.57% and Power Grid at 0.46%.

EternaI, BEL, Adani Ports, Bajaj Finserv, Reliance Industries and Larsen & Toubro were also trading lower.

IT, PHARMA AND PRIVATE BANKS SUPPORT NIFTY

Sectoral indices were largely in the green in early trade.

Nifty Pharma was the top gainer, rising 0.65%, followed by Nifty Healthcare at 0.56%, Nifty IT at 0.50% and Nifty Private Bank at 0.49%.

Nifty Consumer Durables gained 0.41%, while Nifty Auto, Realty, Media, Metal, FMCG and Financial Services also traded higher.

However, Nifty Oil & Gas fell 0.19%, Nifty PSU Bank declined 0.20% and Nifty Financial Services ex-Bank was down 0.22%.

Nifty Chemicals and Nifty MidSmall Financial Services were also in the red.

The broader market opened with a mixed trend.

Nifty Midcap 50 gained 0.29%, while Nifty Midcap 100 rose 0.22%. Nifty MidSmall IT & Telecom was up 0.61% and Nifty 500 Healthcare gained 0.63%.

Nifty Smallcap 100, however, was down 0.11%.

India VIX, a measure of expected market volatility, rose 5.34% to 12.81, indicating some increase in caution despite the positive start.

FIIs REMAIN A KEY SUPPORT

Foreign portfolio investors bought domestic stocks worth $1.36 billion last week after purchasing $2.12 billion worth of Indian equities in July.

The continued return of foreign investors has emerged as an important positive factor for domestic markets after heavy selling earlier this year.

Dr VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments Limited, said the market's undertone remains mildly bullish, with better-than-expected first-quarter results emerging as a key positive factor.

"The principal bullish factor is the better-than-expected Q1 results. With the earnings season coming to an end this week, vast majority of companies have reported earnings growth that has beaten expectations," he said.

Vijayakumar expects resilient domestic demand to continue supporting revenue and earnings growth in the second quarter, particularly in banking and financial services, autos, pharmaceuticals, metals and digital platform companies.

He also said deficient monsoon rains had been partly compensated by good rainfall in July.

"FIIs turning buyers in July and continuing their buying in most of the days in August, so far, is another positive factor. These positive factors have the potential to keep the market resilient," Vijayakumar said.

The Indian rupee opened at 95.17 per US dollar on Monday, little changed from its previous close of 95.2075.

Investors will continue to track movements in the rupee, crude oil prices, foreign fund flows and global interest-rate expectations for further direction.

(Disclaimer: The views, opinions, recommendations, and suggestions expressed by experts/brokerages in this article are their own and do not reflect the views of the India Today Group. It is advisable to consult a qualified broker or financial advisor before making any actual investment or trading choices.)

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