Understanding Today’s Stock Market: Nifty50 and Sensex

The current Israel-Iran situation is closely monitored for its impact on defense and oil-related stocks. (AI image)

Today’s Market Overview

The Indian stock market showed mixed trends at the opening today. Let’s dive into the details:

Key Highlights

• Nifty50: Began above 24,900.
• BSE Sensex: Started near 81,750.

At 9:18 AM, the Nifty50 was at 24,933.10. This was a slight decrease of 13 points, or 0.054%. The BSE Sensex stood at 81,743.28. It also saw a small drop of 53 points, or 0.065%.

Sector Watch

The Israel-Iran situation is impacting certain sectors:

• Defense and Oil Stocks: These are being closely watched due to the ongoing tensions.
• Monsoon-Related Sectors: Sectors like fertilizers, agro-chemicals, and rural FMCG may see gains due to forecasts of above-average rainfall.

Expert Insights

VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments Limited, shares his views:

• Market Resilience: Despite the Iran-Israel conflict, global stock markets remain steady. The US volatility index (CBOE) has declined, indicating stable markets unless the conflict worsens dramatically.
• Retail Investors: They are using every market dip as a buying opportunity. Valuations do not seem to deter them.
• Investment Flows: Over the last four trading days, Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) sold stocks worth Rs 8,080 crores. However, Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) bought stocks worth Rs 19,800 crores, offsetting the FII selling.

Vijayakumar advises caution but suggests staying invested. He recommends buying the dips. Nifty has support at the 24,500 level and may face resistance at 25,000.

Global Market Trends

US markets ended positively on Monday. Petroleum prices declined after the Israel-Iran confrontations did not disrupt oil production and distribution. This reduced worries about inflation from higher energy costs.

Asian equities showed mixed trends. Japanese and South Korean markets had marginal gains. This followed Wall Street’s positive session where the S&P 500 advanced approximately 1%, surpassing 6,000.

Currency and Oil Prices

The US dollar strengthened slightly on Tuesday. Most currencies remained within narrow ranges as investors stayed cautious about Middle East tensions. They are also awaiting upcoming central bank meetings.

Oil prices increased by more than 2% on Tuesday. Tensions between Iran and Israel escalated, with US President Donald Trump calling for the evacuation of Tehran. This raised concerns about regional stability and oil supply disruptions.

Investment Flows

On Monday, Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) were net sellers of Rs 2,539 crore. Meanwhile, DIIs purchased shares worth Rs 5,781 crore net.

FII net short positions in futures decreased from Rs 1.04 lakh crore on Friday to Rs 1.01 lakh crore on Monday.

Disclaimer: Recommendations and views on the stock market and other asset classes given by experts are their own. These opinions do not represent the views of The Times of India.