Indian stock markets experienced a surge on Thursday during the opening session, following a flat performance the previous day.
Both the Nifty 50 and Sensex indices opened higher, reflecting renewed investor optimism. The Nifty 50 index climbed by 93.20 points, or 0.38 per cent, to reach 24,863.40 points. Meanwhile, the BSE Sensex saw a gain of 301.94 points, or 0.37 per cent, bringing it to 81,207.24 points.
Market experts are optimistic about the possibility of the Indian markets reaching a new all-time high in the coming week. This optimism is fueled by the release of the US Federal Reserve’s minutes, which have raised expectations of potential interest rate cuts in September.
“We have a good chance of crossing the all-time high levels on the Indian markets during the next week. Soft crude oil prices are another tailwind for the Indian economy. Reducing geopolitical tensions are helping cut the geopolitical risk premia embedded in crude oil pricing. Dovish FOMC July meeting comments have raised the probability of a US Fed rate cut at the Sep 18th meeting. US markets reacted positively to that and Asian markets are carrying on the momentum” said Ajay Bagga, Banking and Market Expert.
In the broader market, the Nifty Micro Cap 250 index led the gains with an increase of over 0.79 percent, while other indices such as Nifty Midcap, Nifty 100, and Nifty Next 50 also posted gains.
However, in sectoral indices, only Nifty Pharma, Nifty Auto, and Nifty Realty opened lower, while all other sectoral indices recorded gains at the start of the trading day.
“Markets open with positive bias. Banking stocks are under some pressure but the Nifty and Sensex are positive. Paytm and Zomato stocks are in focus, Investors need to trade carefully in Mid and small-caps as rich valuations are under scrutiny” said Shriram Subramanian, founder and MD of InGovern Research Services.
In global markets, US indices closed higher on Wednesday, buoyed by dovish comments in the Fed’s July FOMC minutes. The S&P 500 rose 0.42 per cent to 5,620.85, the Nasdaq Composite increased 0.57 per cent to 17,918.99, and the Dow Jones added 0.14 per cent to 40,890.49.
The US Dollar Index was up 0.09 per cent at 101.21. Crude oil prices were marginally lower, with WTI at USD 71.83 and Brent at USD 76.01.
Asian markets showed mixed performance with Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 1.02 per cent to 38,340.21, while the Shanghai Composite fell 0.01 per cent to 2,856.2
FII outflows amounted to Rs 799.74 crore, while DII inflows were Rs 3,097.45 crore on August 21, 2024.
