Indian stock markets opened on a negative note today, with both the Sensex and Nifty starting the session in the red. The Sensex kicked off at 82,314.42, down by 0.26%, while the Nifty began trading at 25,001.50, down 0.24% in early deals. The Nifty Bank opened at 55,264.75, down by 0.05%.
“When aggressive market activity happens against the near consensus view, the market movement can be sharp. Yesterday’s 550-point spike in Nifty from the lows was a classic case of such unexpected contrarian trend. The near consensus view was that FIIs will slowdown purchases in India and might even turn sellers preferring the cheaper Chinese stocks in view of the emerging US-China trade deal. This explains the sharp rise in cash holdings of the mutual funds and DIIs turning sellers,” said Dr. VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments.
“But the FII’s aggressive contrarian move against the prevailing consensus by buying stocks for Rs 5393 crores surprised the majority of market participants. The consequent short covering in largecaps must have contributed to the sharp 550-point Nifty rally from the lows yesterday. The momentum now clearly favours largecaps. If the FIIs continue with their buy India strategy the market can further surprise on the upside. But the valuations will get stretched eroding the fundamental support to the market,” he added .
Key factors to watch out today-
Corporate earnings buzz
Investors are closely tracking quarterly results of several major firms. Big names like Hyundai Motor India, Bharat Heavy Electricals, Emami, Delhivery, and Jubilant Pharmova are expected to report their performance today. Eyes are also on chemical companies such as Gujarat Alkalies, India Glycols, and Thirumalai Chemicals, along with financial players like CreditAccess Grameen and Repco Home Finance.
Nifty technical outlook
“Though we had pencilled in our preference towards upsides to 25,200 for yesterday, our conviction level was low given the lack of momentum. But, as it turned out, the early dip provided the launch pad to gain momentum that would spark the eventual surge above 25,000 for the first time since October 2024. This move also saw the breakout past the triangular pattern that we had highlighted yesterday. With 74% of Nifty 50 stocks still below upper Bollinger band, the uptrend does have more legs. Yet, with bulk of yesterday’s spike concentrating in an hour post afternoon, opening moves might have a tendency to pull back at least till 24,971, before reattempting upswings. Downside marker may be pushed higher to 24,806, with an upside objective of 25,235,” said Anand James, Chief Market Strategist, Geojit Investments.
Top gainers so far
Stocks leading the charge in early trade include Ultratech Cement, Bajaj Finserv, NTPC, Maruti and Axis Bank.
Key laggards in trade
Meanwhile, some stocks are under pressure today Bharti Airtel, SBI, IndusInd Bank, Infosys and Tech Mahindra.
Asian Markets
Asian markets traded with a cautious tone on Friday as investors reacted to fresh economic data from Japan. The country’s economy contracted slightly in the first quarter, leading to a 0.14% dip in the Nikkei 225 index. Despite this, Japan’s broader Topix index edged up by 0.12%. In South Korea, the Kospi gained 0.33%, while the tech-focused Kosdaq slipped 0.2%