Domestic benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty opened higher on Thursday, supported by cues from global markets. However, gains remained capped amid lingering concerns over the fragile US-Iran ceasefire and continued weakness in the rupee.

At 9:18 am, the BSE Sensex gained 351.73 points, or 0.47%, to 74,960.71, after rising as much as 458 points in early trade, while the NSE Nifty climbed 157.10 points, or 0.67%, to 23,569.70, briefly touching a high of 23,581.50.

Among Sensex constituents, Adani Ports jumped 1.48% to Rs 1761.75. Bharti Airtel rose 1.41%, while M&M, Power Grid, and Trent gained 1.26%, 1.23% and 1.16%, respectively.

“Continuous rupee depreciation is becoming a major macro threat for the economy. This year began with rupee at 90 to the dollar. Since then it has steadily depreciated to the present level of 95.70 to the dollar,” said VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments Ltd.

“If crude remains elevated for an extended period, rupee will move to 100. The other major drag on the rupee is the sustained selling by FPIs in the Indian market,” Vijayakumar added.

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Global stock markets

Broader Asian markets traded mostly higher today. Japan’s Nikkei 225 was trading 0.28% higher at 63,448.87, while South Korea’s Kospi traded flat at 7,844.58. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 0.18% to 26,434.80. 

Wall Street ended mostly higher overnight, with two of the three major indices closing in the green. The S&P 500 gained 0.58% to settle at 7,444.25, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average also edged down 0.14% to close at 49,693.20. The Nasdaq Composite gained 1.20% to end at 26,402.34.

Previous session

In the previous session on Wednesday, the Sensex edged up 49.74 points, or 0.07%, to settle at 74,608.98, while the Nifty gained 33.05 points, or 0.14%, to close at 23,412.60.

“Overall, the technical setup suggests a positive opening due to supportive global cues, but the broader market structure remains weak as key indices continue to trade below important moving averages amid elevated volatility and persistent selling pressure. Traders are likely to remain cautious unless Nifty decisively reclaims the 24,000 mark,” said Aakash Shah, Technical Research Analyst at Choice Equity Broking Private Ltd.