After yesterday’s heavy fall, the stock market opened with a slight rise on Friday. Sensex was trading around 84,337 with a gain of 150 points. Nifty was trading at 25,922, up 45 points. Bank Nifty was trading flat. On Nifty 50, ONGC, BEL, Asian Paint, Power Grid, HCL Tech, Eternal and Tech Mahindra were trading higher. Meanwhile, declines were seen in Adani Enterprises, Adani Ports, ICICI Bank, Shriram Finance, NTPC, TMPV and Max Health.
Ahead of BSE Sensex Day, several important triggers on the global and domestic fronts seem to be determining investor sentiment. Continued selling by foreign investors, mixed cues from US markets, sharp volatility in commodities, and India coking coal IPO and results season, which starts today, will be the key factors in market focus.
FII selling continues
Foreign institutional investors continued their aggressive selling on Thursday. FIIs sold a net ₹11,922 crore, marking the fourth consecutive day when foreign investors pulled out money from the market. In contrast, domestic institutional investors remain confident. DIIs continued their buying for the 93rd consecutive day, infusing around ₹3,700 crore, cushioning the decline to some extent.
What signals are coming from global markets?
There were mixed signals from US markets. The Dow Jones Industrial Average made a strong recovery from the day’s lows, jumping 475 points to close nearly 270 points higher. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq fell nearly 100 points after three consecutive days of gains. Nifty is trading flat around 26,000, indicating a range-bound opening for the domestic market. Dow futures also look sluggish ahead of the Trump tariff hearing in the US and December employment data.
What will happen in America today?
The US Supreme Court is expected to give an important decision today on Trump’s tariff powers, which may impact global trade and markets. Additionally, US lawmakers have introduced a resolution in the Senate to block any future military action by Trump against Venezuela, which has brought some relief on the geopolitical front.
Profit-booking in commodity market
Commodity markets witnessed sharp profit-booking. Silver fell by about ₹8,200 to close at ₹2,43,300, while gold fell by almost ₹300 to close at ₹1,37,800. In the international market, silver fell by about 1.5 percent, although gold rose by ₹20. Meanwhile, crude oil prices rose sharply due to depletion in US crude oil reserves. Brent crude oil rose 4.5 percent to around ₹63 per barrel. The dollar remains strong in the currency market. The dollar index strengthened for the third consecutive day, remaining above a one-month high of 98.5, which may put some pressure on emerging markets.
What news to keep an eye on?
A big deal has made headlines in the corporate world. The 24-year partnership between Bajaj Finserv and Allianz has ended. Bajaj Finserv has acquired Allianz’s 23 per cent stake in its insurance companies for about ₹21,400 crore. This is considered to be the biggest deal in the Indian insurance sector so far.
In the F&O segment, the market will closely watch the IREDA results, which will be released after market close. Additionally, the Electricity Appellate Tribunal will hear the market coupling case from 10:30 am today, which may cause movement in IEX shares.
Bharat Coking Coal IPO will open for subscription in the primary market today. The issue price band has been fixed at ₹21 to ₹23. It will be important for investors to know what Anil Singhvi says about investing in this issue at 8 am.
On the regulatory front, SEBI has scrapped a 34-year-old rule for brokers. Now, brokers will be able to provide financial services that fall under the purview of other regulators, which could bring a major change in the business model of the brokerage industry.