Nifty, Sensex open slightly higher, led by energy stocks

Markets open marginally higher: As global optimism surrounding potential US rate cuts wanes, benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty opened marginally higher on Wednesday.

At 9:15 am, the NSE Nifty 50 edged up by 0.22 per cent to 22,053.95, while the BSE Sensex rose by 0.30 per cent to 72,692.16.

V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services said, “Market is likely to continue in the consolidation mode for a couple of days more and then take a new directional trend starting April. The undertone of the market continues to be bullish supported by strong economic fundamentals. A significant structural trend in the market is the sustained flows into equity mutual funds which are gathering momentum. This will ensure resilience of the market with dips getting bought.”

Reliance emerged as the top gainer on the BSE, followed by Maruti and Hindustan Unilever, while Wipro, Jindal Steel, and Infosys experienced losses. 

On the NSE, Adani Ports and Bharat Petroleum led gains, while UPL and Britannia were among the top losers.

Nifty Oil and Gas surged over 1 per cent in early trading, and both Nifty MidCap and SmallCap indices traded over 0.60 per cent higher. “Midcaps have again become the segment of activity, particularly by retail investors. This is because there is no institutional selling pressure in midcaps unlike in largecaps where institutions including FIIs have large holdings,” Vijayakumar said.

CDSL dropped over 5 per cent after shares worth Rs 1,722 crore change hands on bourses. 

In individual stocks, Adani Ports' will be in focus after acquisition of Gopalpur Port in Odisha for Rs 3,350 crore captured attention. Additionally, Cipla and Sanofi India signed a pact, while Angel One launched a QIP to raise up to Rs 1,500 crore. 

Meanwhile IIFL Finance will be watched after the company appointed Arun Kumar Purwar as Chairman, and Pratap Snack commenced production at its new J&K unit. 

Vijayakumar further said that financials are likely to lead the rally along with capital goods and automobiles in early April. Credit growth in the economy is impressive at around 20 per cent and this will help boost banks’ profitability. March quarter (Q4FY24) results of banks will be good.