Indian equity indices opened Monday’s trading session on a flat to lower note. The NSE Nifty 50 opened 6 points, or 0.02%, lower at 25,013, while the BSE Sensex opened 30.30 points, or 0.04%, lower at 82,300.

Bank Nifty opened 23.55 points or 0.04% lower at 55,331. However, the midcap stocks surged in the opening trade, breaking ranks with benchmarks. The Nifty Midcap 100 advanced 180 points, or 0.32%, to open at 57,240.75. 

“We now have only the October 2024 peak ahead at 25,235, which is in close vicinity, before 26,277, the lofty peak of September stares at us. This warns us to be guarded against sudden withdrawal in risk appetite and buying interest as we push ahead. With this in the backdrop, we will begin the week expecting continuation of the uptrend, with an intraday downside marker at 24,950. However, brace for declines, should the upswings there of fail to clear 25,235 or if there is an outright breakdown past 24,870/807 region,” said Anand James, Chief Markets Strategist at Geojit Investments.

Here are four key highlights from the early session-

Top performers leading the charge

Among the top gainers on the Nifty 50 were Bajaj Auto, Hero MotoCorp, Eicher Motors, Bharat Electronics, and Hindustan Unilever. The top movers in the Nifty 50 were Reliance Industries, ICICI Bank, Bharat Electronics, HDFC Bank, and ITC as soon as markets opened.

Stocks in the red

Not everything was rosy, though. The stocks that remained under pressure included Zomato, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, HCL Technologies, and Grasim Industries, which were among the laggards.

Global markets offer negative signals

While Indian markets opened on a flat note, the global markets were trading on a lower note. Japan’s Nikkei 225 was down 0.81%, other Asian indices like South Korea’s Kospi, Chinese Shanghai Composite, etc., were also trading lower. The US futures were trading in the red as Moody’s Ratings downgraded the US credit rating. 

All eyes on Q4 earnings

Investors are closely tracking a string of quarterly results scheduled for today. Major names like Power Grid Corporation of India, DLF, ACME Solar Holdings, Bharat Electronics, CMS Info Systems, Gujarat Gas, DOMS Industries, HEG, JK Paper, IRB Infrastructure Developers, One Mobikwik Systems, Petronet LNG, NLC India, Pfizer, PI Industries, Sun Pharma Advanced Research Company, Quess Corp, and Zydus Wellness will announce their quarterly earnings scorecard on May 19.