Stock Market Open Flat Amid Weak Asian Cues; IT And Auto Stocks Under Pressure

Domestic equity benchmarks opened on a flat note Friday, weighed down by weak cues from Asian markets and early selling in IT and auto stocks. Despite the lack of strong market triggers, stable institutional flows, both foreign and domestic, are helping maintain equilibrium, according to analysts.

As of 9:40 am, the BSE Sensex was marginally higher, up 11.77 points or 0.01 per cent at 81,644.79. The NSE Nifty edged up 13.20 points or 0.05 per cent to trade at 24,846.80.

In the Sensex basket, the top laggards included Infosys, Tech Mahindra, HCL Tech, Bajaj Finance, IndusInd Bank, Bharti Airtel, Titan, and Hindustan Unilever. On the flip side, Adani Ports, Eternal, Maruti Suzuki, and Sun Pharma were among the top gainers.

Sectorial Update

Among sectoral indices, Nifty Bank gained 81.20 points or 0.15 per cent to reach 55,627.25. The Nifty Midcap 100 climbed 250.40 points or 0.44 per cent to 57,707.65, while the Nifty Smallcap 100 rose 37.75 points or 0.21 per cent to 17,927.15.

Analysts note that the market is in a consolidation phase and likely to stay range-bound in the short term. On Thursday, the Nifty managed a strong intraday recovery after trading in negative territory for most of the session.

“Although the Nifty is still caught in a sideways market defined by the 24,462 and 25,116 range, yesterday's rebound traced a long lower shadow and a small real body that was closer to the day's high, and that's a bullish sign. Immediate support and resistance lie at 24677 and 25000, respectively,” said Akshay Chinchalkar, Head of Research at Axis Securities.

Global Update

Asian markets continued to trade in the red, with indices in Hong Kong, Bangkok, Seoul, China, and Japan all showing losses.

Overnight, US markets ended higher. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 117.03 points or 0.28 per cent to close at 42,215.73, while the S&P 500 gained 23.62 points or 0.40 per cent to 5,912.17. The Nasdaq climbed 74.93 points or 0.39 per cent to finish at 19,175.87.

Commenting on market trends, Dr. V.K. Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services, said: “Investors should understand two distinct big trends that will weigh on markets: One, India’s macros are strong and improving. Two, this positive trend in macros is not getting reflected in corporate earnings.”

On the institutional side, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net buyers on May 29, purchasing Rs 884.03 crore worth of equities. Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were more aggressive, buying equities worth Rs 4,286.50 crore.

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