Indian stock markets commenced Tuesday with minimal movement, as both the Sensex and Nifty indices opened on a flat note. The Sensex registered a marginal gain of 5 points to reach 77,714, while the Nifty advanced by 10 points to 24,248. This subdued opening occurred against a backdrop of reported trading attacks between the US and Iran, which contributed to investor caution.
Several prominent stocks experienced declines during early trading. HDFC Bank, Eternal, Sun Pharma, Maruti Suzuki, Axis Bank, Reliance Industries, and M&M were among the top losers on the Sensex, with some falling by as much as 1.11%.
Conversely, a few stocks managed to post gains. Tech Mahindra, IndiGo, Ultratech Cement, ICICI Bank, and Tata Steel were the leading performers, with their shares rising up to 1.70%.
Market analysts offered insights into the current trading environment. Shrikant Chauhan, Head of Equity Research at Kotak Securities, noted the market's narrowing trading range, awaiting a decisive breakout. He identified key levels to monitor: 24,000/76,800 on the downside and 24,350/78,300 on the upside. Chauhan suggested that as long as these levels hold on a closing basis, stock-specific action would likely dominate. His preferred strategy involves reducing weak long positions in the 24,350–24,450 (78,300–78,600) range and selectively accumulating quality stocks during declines around the 24,000 level.
VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments, highlighted the near-term influence of crude oil prices. While Brent crude softening to around $88 per barrel was a positive sign, he cautioned that significant uncertainty posed an upside risk to crude prices, which could weigh on markets. Vijayakumar also observed that foreign portfolio investor (FPI) selling was not substantial enough to impact the market significantly, as it was easily absorbed by domestic institutional investor (DII) buying.
In the preceding session on Monday, the market had closed lower, with the Sensex shedding 443 points to finish at 77,708, and the Nifty slipping by 96 points to settle at 24,238.