India’s benchmark indices opened flat on Tuesday amid continued selling pressure from foreign institutional investors (FIIs).
The Nifty slipped 10.30 points, starting at 24,328.85, while the Sensex rose by 32 points to open at 80,037.20.
On Monday, both indices gained despite FIIs offloading stocks worth Rs 3,228 crore. Market experts attributed the rally to increased buying from retail investors.
V.K. Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services, said, “An interesting feature of yesterday’s 158-point rally in the Nifty was that the upward movement occurred even with FII selling at Rs 3,228 crore, which surpassed the domestic institutional investors’ (DII) purchases of Rs 1,401 crore.”
“The implication of this shift in trend, despite persistent FII selling, indicates that retail investors are returning to a buying mode. The decline in the intensity of FII selling is positive for the market, although FIIs may continue to sell,” he added.
Sector-wise, Nifty Auto, Nifty FMCG, Nifty IT, and Nifty Metal sectors saw declines, while other indices posted gains in the opening session.
Top gainers included NTPC, BEL, and ICICI Bank, while M&M, Bharti Airtel, HDFC Life, and Shriram Finance were among the top losers.
Soni Patnaik, AVP and Derivatives Research Analyst at JM Financial Services, said, “Nifty started the final week with rollovers at 30 percent as FIIs increased their long positions in futures and options (F&O) from 33 percent to 40 percent. Moving forward, call writers are heavily positioned at 24,500, where Nifty may encounter resistance. Only a breakthrough above this level could trigger short covering towards the 24,700-24,800 range. On an immediate basis, 24,200 remains a crucial support level on a closing basis.”
Several companies, including Maruti Suzuki, Adani Enterprises, Adani Ports, Cipla, and Canara Bank, are set to announce their second-quarter financial results for FY25 today, which may influence investor sentiment.
In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei 225 index rose by 0.55 percent, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index surged by 1 percent. However, Taiwan’s Weighted index faced pressure, declining by 1.72 percent, while South Korea’s KOSPI index also fell marginally at the time of this report.
(With ANI input)