India’s benchmark indices opened higher on Friday, tracking a rally in Asian stocks.
The Nifty rose 61.90 points, or 0.27%, to 23,411.80, while the Sensex added 193.95 points, or 0.25%, to 77,349.74.
Market experts said that investors remained cautious ahead of the Maharashtra election results over the weekend, which are expected to influence market sentiment.
Ajay Bagga, a banking and market expert, said, “The Indian stock markets are expected to show cautious movement today due to mixed global and domestic cues. Maharashtra election results on Saturday will be closely watched by the markets. The rise in oil prices amid the ongoing Ukraine-Russia conflict is a critical factor to monitor.”
Bagga also highlighted the impact of foreign portfolio investor (FPI) selling. “The FPI sale number was disappointingly large yesterday, probably on the back of the Adani group selling. As the 5th largest economy and the 5th largest market in the world, Indian investors and Indian markets need to take such developments in their stride and not overstress,” he said.
Shares of the Adani group continued their downward trend after U.S. prosecutors implicated Gautam Adani and others in a bribery case involving a solar energy contract. Adani Green Energy dropped by over 8% in early trading.
Among sectoral indices, Nifty Bank led the gains on the National Stock Exchange with a 0.65% rise, while Nifty FMCG, Media, Metal, and Consumer Durables opened in the red.
Akshay Chinchalkar, Head of Research at Axis Securities, said, “With the Nifty reaching a new low in this decline, the focus is now on a key support zone near 23,200. This area is offering support from multiple indicators including a key Fibonacci retracement from the election day lows, a rising trendline from the October ’23 trough, a falling channel currently in play and the so-called daily Ichimoku cloud. We are also close to a time-reversal area which covers the early part of next week.”
In broader Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei gained over 1%, Taiwan’s Weighted Index rose 1.74%, and South Korea’s KOSPI climbed 1.13%. However, Hong Kong and Chinese markets remained subdued.
(With inputs from ANI)