The Dalal Street party today is driven by positive employment datafrom the United States.The data has increased expectations of an interest rate cut by theUS Federal Reserve in March. The US Labor Department reported a decline of over 600,000 job openings at the end of October, signaling a slowdown in the US economy.
At 10:22 AM, the BSE Sensex was up by 225 points or 0.33% at 69,522, while the Nifty50 was trading at 20,919, up by 63 points or 0.31%.
Among the top gainers in the BSE Sensex pack were Asian Paints, Power Grid, HCL Tech, and Sun Pharma, while ICICI Bank, JSW Steel, UltraTech Cement, and Maruti were among the losers, according to an ET report.
Adani stocks continued their upward trajectory as well. Adani Enterprises, the flagship company of the Adani group, rose by over 5% to reach Rs 3,112, while Adani Green Energy surged by 16.2%. Adani Energy Solutions, Adani Total Gas, and NDTV also witnessed gains of 10-16%. Adani Ports and Adani Power saw increases of 5% and 8%, respectively.
On the sectoral front, Nifty Metal rose by 0.9% and Nifty as a whole gained by 0.4%. Nifty Financial, FMCG, Media, Pharma, PSU Bank, and Oil & Gas sectors also opened on a positive note.
Indian markets to enter consolidation phase?
Experts predict that while the market sentiment remains bullish, there may be consolidation in the near future. Profit booking is expected from domestic institutional investors and individual investors who have made substantial gains. The continuous decline in US bond yields is likely to attract foreign institutional investors, says VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services.
Technical charts suggest that the Nifty may find support at 20,700 and 20,500, while immediate resistance levels are expected at 21,000 and 21,200, feels Mandar Bhojane, Research Analyst at Choice Broking.
In global markets, Asia-Pacific equities showed gains as expectations of interest rate peaks among major central banks increased and bond yields continued to decline. Japan’s Nikkei surged by 1.6%, Australia’s stock benchmark jumped by 1.4%, and South Korea’s KOSPI added 0.56%.
US stock futures also pointed higher, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq up by 0.4% and S&P 500 futures rising by 0.26%.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought Indian shares worth Rs 5,224 crore on Tuesday, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) sold shares worth Rs 1,399 crore.
Crude oil prices remained flat as concerns about the impact of OPEC+ cuts and a worsening demand outlook in China persisted. Brent crude futures rose by 2 cents to $77.22 a barrel, while US WTI crude futures were down by 2 cents at $72.30 a barrel.
In the currency market, the Indian rupee gained 2 paise against the US dollar, reaching $83.35 in early trade. The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, declined by 0.11% to 103.93.