Stock market today: Nifty50 opens below 26,200; BSE Sensex down 300 points
Stock market today: Nifty50 and BSE Sensex, the Indian equity benchmark indices, opened in green on Tuesday. While Nifty50 was below 26,200, BSE Sensex tanked 300 points. At 9:25 AM, Nifty50 was trading at 26,193.10, down 57 points or 0.22%. BSE Sensex was at 85,140.05, down 300 points or 0.35%.Analysts are of the view that Indian equity markets will trade with a positive bias in the near term, supported by stronger than anticipated third quarter earnings and expectations of higher capital expenditure announcements ahead of the Union Budget. However, analysts caution that bouts of volatility cannot be ruled out due to ongoing global geopolitical developments.Dr. VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments Limited says, “The US markets have largely ignored the Venezuelan crisis and moved ahead. It seems the market’s verdict is that the economic consequences of this major geopolitical event will not be negative; perhaps it can be even positive from the medium to long-term perspective, when the crude prices decline on increased supply from Venezuela. However, it is too early to take a call on this since further surprises on the geopolitical front are likely. We are in a highly uncertain phase. Therefore, investors can also think of increasing the cash position in their portfolios even while remaining invested. Heightened uncertainty triggered by unprecedented geopolitical events demands a cautious approach to investment supported by higher cash positions to exploit sudden movements in the market.” “The banking sector is moving to a stronger position supported by increasing credit growth even though deposit mobilisation remains a challenge.”Global cues remained supportive after Wall Street closed higher on Monday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average scaled a fresh all-time high, led by sharp gains in financial stocks, while energy shares advanced after a US military operation resulted in the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.Asian markets opened marginally higher on Tuesday, extending the recent record-breaking rally in global equities, as investors chose to look beyond geopolitical risks and focused on improving risk appetite.In currency markets, the US dollar hovered near a two-week high in early Asian trade on Tuesday. The easing of immediate market anxiety following US military action in Venezuela, combined with dovish remarks from Federal Reserve officials, helped underpin risk-taking sentiment on Wall Street.On the domestic institutional front, foreign portfolio investors were net sellers of Indian equities worth Rs 36 crore on Monday, according to exchange data. Domestic institutional investors, in contrast, provided strong support to the market with net purchases of Rs 1764 crore.(Disclaimer: Recommendations and views on the stock market, other asset classes or personal finance management tips given by experts are their own. These opinions do not represent the views of The Times of India)
