Domestic equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty50 continued their upward trend for the second day, opening on a positive note Tuesday, even as investors stayed cautious ahead of the US inflation data, which is expected to shape near-term interest rate outlook.
At 9:28 am, the BSE Sensex was trading at 80,712.05, up 107.97 points or 0.13 per cent. The 30-share index had earlier climbed 117 points. The NSE Nifty50 was up 12.25 points or 0.05 per cent at 24,597.30, after touching day’s high of 24,641.05.
Among Sensex stocks, Larsen & Toubro led gainers, rising 1.20 per cent to Rs 160.75. Mahindra & Mahindra climbed 1 per cent. Other gainers included Tata Steel (up 0.98 per cent), Tech Mahindra (up 0.86 per cent), Reliance Industries (up 0.78 per cent) and TCS (up 0.70 per cent).
Adani Enterprises shares slipped 0.14 per cent to Rs 2,280 in Tuesday’s trade after its subsidiary, Adani Defence Systems and Technologies (ADSTL), announced a strategic acquisition. ADSTL’s venture, Horizon Aero Solutions, in partnership with Prime Aero Services LLP, has signed a definitive agreement to acquire a 100 per cent stake in Indamer Technics.
VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments Limited, said the market will be focused on the outcome of the Trump-Putin talks scheduled for August 7th. If the talks result in a breakthrough and a possible end to the Russia-Ukraine war, there will be a dramatic change in market sentiments.
“The 25 per cent penal tariffs imposed on India for buying oil from Russia will become irrelevant. But since Trump has a bloated ego and he is unhappy with India’s response, we don’t know how things are going to pan out. Extension of the China-US talks for another 90 days is a reflection of the Chinese leverage in talks, particularly the leverage arising out of China’s dominant position in rare earth magnet market,” Vijayakumar said.
“The robust equity fund flows of Rs 42,702 crore in July into mutual funds reflect the optimism of retail investors. This huge liquidity can support the market despite the geopolitical headwinds. However, investors should be guarded against the elevated valuations in the broader market, particularly in smallcaps. Investors should focus on high quality fairly-valued growth stocks in financials, telecom and capital goods. Midcap IT offers value buying opportunities,” Vijayakumar added.
Domestic equity benchmarks settled higher on Monday amid positive global cues and partial return of FIIs. The BSE Sensex climbed 746.29 points, or 0.93 per cent, to settle at 80,604.08, while the NSE Nifty50 rose 221.75 points, or 0.91 per cent, to close at 24,585.05.
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