At 9.34 am, Sensex rose over 50 pts to 78,564 while Nifty 50 was flat, trading around 24,350. India VIX, which measures volatility in markets, jumped nearly 7% to 18.35 in the early trading hours.
HDFC Bank, Zomato-parent Eternal, Reliance Industries, Tata Steel and Kotak Mahindra Bank shares were the top losers on Sensex, falling up to 1% each. Bucking the trend, Zudio-parent Trent shares gained more than 2% while ICICI Bank, SBI and Adani Ports shares were up nearly 1% each.
Broader markets, which were outperforming benchmarks in the earlier sessions, failed to hold on to the momentum. The Nifty Smallcap 100 index fell nearly 0.7% while the Nifty Midcap 100 index declined around 0.3%.
Nifty Metal and Nifty Realty indices were the top sectoral losers on NSE, declining nearly 1% each in the morning. Bucking the trend, Nifty FMCG, Nifty Media and Nifty PSU Bank indices were trading with marginal gains. Around 1,232 stocks declined on the stock exchange, with 1,421 advanced and 114 remained unchanged.
Rupee gains
The Indian rupee continued to gain against the US dollar, opening 0.1% higher at 92.8250 on Monday, as against the previous closing of 92.9250. The Indian currency has rebounded sharply after crossing the historic 95-mark earlier last month as the raging war in the Middle East and the subsequent skyrocketing rally in oil prices raised worries over the possible impact on India’s macroeconomics. “Overall, the rupee remains supported in the near term, but sustainability will depend on the outcome of geopolitical developments and crude price stability,” said Jateen Trivedi, VP Research Analyst of Commodity and Currency at LKP Securities.
FII remain net buyers for 3rd day
Foreign investors remained net buyers of Indian equities for the third consecutive session, net purchasing shares worth Rs 683 crore during an extremely volatile session on Thursday. FII has overall bought Indian equities worth more than Rs 1,731 crore during the three days.
However, the last purchases are negligible when compared to the massive selloff seen earlier. FIIs have remained net buyers for only four out of 32 consecutive sessions. They net sold Indian equities worth more than Rs 1.6 lakh crore between March 2 and April 9.
After the massive selloff, it is difficult to say whether yesterday’s slight net buying by foreign investors marked a decisive change in their behavior or just the calm before another storm.
MORE TO COME…