Indian equity benchmarks opened higher on Wednesday. As of 9.45 am, the Sensex and Nifty indexes are showing positive momentum. The Sensex opened at 79,771.82, up from its previous close of 79,476.63, and is currently trading at 79,907.88, marking a rise of 431.25 points or 0.54 per cent. Nifty opened at 24,308.75, up from its previous close of 24,213.30, and is trading at 24,351.20, reflecting a gain of 137.90 points or 0.57 per cent.

Dr Reddy’s Lab led the gainers on NSE, rising 2.51 per cent, followed by Trent (2.08 per cent), BEL (2.01 per cent), HCL Tech (1.93 per cent), and Infosys (1.39 per cent). Among the top losers were Titan, dropping 3.08 per cent, Tata Steel declining 1.30 per cent, SBI Life falling 0.74 per cent, JSW Steel down 0.70 per cent, and Hindalco slipping 0.69 per cent.

“The sharp rebound in the market yesterday indicates a halt to the downward trend witnessed in the last many days. The fact that the rebound is led by fairly-valued and fundamentally strong large banking stocks is important,” said Dr. V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services. However, he cautioned that “poor earnings growth in Q2 and earnings downgrades for FY25 are headwinds that will constrain a sustained rally.”

The metal sector showed strength following positive data from China. “China’s national steel PMI increased by 5.6 points to 54.6 in October and returned to expansion territory for the first time after March 2023,” noted Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research at HDFC Securities.

MSCI index rebalancing

Markets are closely watching the MSCI index rebalancing scheduled for today. “HDFC Bank, Adani Energy, along with Kalyan Jewellers, Oberoi Realty, Voltas, and Alkem Labo, could be added to the index,” according to Vikas Jain, Head of Research at Reliance Securities.

Today marks the opening of food delivery platform Swiggy’s much-anticipated Initial Public Offering (IPO), which aims to raise over ₹11,000 crore by November 8. Market participants are watching closely for its impact on listed competitor Zomato.

On the technical front, Akshay Chinchalkar, Head of Research at Axis Securities, identified key levels: “Near-term resistance lies inside the 24,420 - 24,542 zone, while key and critical supports are at 24,074 and 23,780 respectively.”

In the commodities market, gold remained steady near $2,740 an ounce as investors awaited US election results. Oil prices edged marginally higher above $75 per barrel, supported by OPEC+’s decision to delay output hike plans.

The institutional activity showed Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) sold equities worth ₹2,569 crore on November 5, while Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) bought equities worth ₹3,031 crore.

In significant corporate news, Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL), in a joint venture with SCPL, emerged as the lowest bidder for an Eastern Railway project valued at ₹837.67 crore, involving track doubling between Parbhani and Parli stations.

Key companies scheduled to announce results today include Power Grid, Tata Steel, Apollo Hospitals, and Jindal Steel.

“If prices sustain above the 24,400 mark, this may confirm a bullish reversal, with the potential to drive the index towards the 24,800 and 25,200 levels in the coming week,” said Mandar Bhojane, Research Analyst at Choice Broking, discussing the market’s technical outlook.

Published on November 6, 2024