Greenery after flat start in stock market; Sensex rises 254 points, Nifty crosses 23600

New Delhi| The domestic stock market is looking greener after a flat start. Sensex rose 254.5 points to 77,945.45 in early trade; Nifty rose 86.25 points to 23,645.30. The rupee was seen trading at 84.40 against the dollar in early trade on Thursday, down one penny.

On the fourth trading day of the week, the major benchmark indices of the Indian stock market, Sensex and Nifty, opened flat with a slight fall. There was continuous selling pressure in both the major indices. The Nifty 50 index opened at 23,542.15 points, down 16.90 points or 0.07 per cent, while the BSE Sensex opened at 77,636.94, down 54.01 points or 0.07 per cent.

Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty were seen trading in the green in early trade on Thursday amid heavy buying by domestic institutional investors and rise in key stocks like HDFC Bank and Reliance Industries after falling in the last two trading sessions.

BSE Sensex rose 254.5 points to 77,945.45 in early trade. Whereas NSE’s Nifty rose by 86.25 points to reach 23,645.30 points. The BSE benchmark had fallen by 1,805.2 points, or 2.27 per cent, over the past two days.

Of the 30 Sensex stocks, HCL Technologies, HDFC Bank, NTPC, Reliance Industries, Tech Mahindra and Axis Bank were the major gainers. UltraTech Cement, Power Grid, Mahindra & Mahindra, Hindustan Unilever, Maruti and Larsen & Toubro were among the laggards.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold shares worth Rs 2,502.58 crore on Wednesday, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought shares worth Rs 6,145.24 crore, according to exchange data.

According to sources, in the period of market recovery, as it is currently, steps will always be taken in the opposite direction, which will bring back the surge. The huge amount of liquidity available to DIIs could fuel this surge. However, such a surge is unlikely to be sustained, as basic factors remain unfavorable.

VK Vijayakumar, chief investment strategist, Geojit Financial Services, said, “The Trump factor has already brought about many major changes in the markets”. The dollar index is strong and rising. It currently peaked at 106.61. U.S. yields for 10-year bonds stand at 4.48%. Both of these are strong barriers to equity markets in emerging economies like India”

He said that the positive aspect is that DIIs have huge amount of liquidity available and there is a continuous flow in these funds. “Domestically, a matter of concern is the disappointing second quarter results of companies and the decline in income”, Vijayakumar said

In Asian markets, there was a rise in Seoul, Tokyo while there was a decline in Shanghai and Hong Kong. American markets closed on a mixed trend on Wednesday. Brent crude, the global oil standard, fell 0.36 percent to $72.02 a barrel. On Wednesday, BSE’s benchmark Sensex had fallen 984.23 points, or 1.25 per cent, to close at 77,690.95. Nifty had closed at 23,559.05, down 324.40 points or 1.36 per cent, registering a decline for the fifth consecutive day.

Experts said the declining trend in markets could continue till February, and there could be a reversal after Trump takes power. The “Trump Anticipation Trade” dominates the markets. “Indian markets continue to show a declining trend, which is influenced by falling corporate earnings, higher-than-target inflation readings and lower-than-target economic growth”, banking and market expert Ajay Bagga told ANI. FIIs continue to sell.”