Equity benchmarks opened higher on Wednesday, buoyed by easing crude oil prices and improving global sentiment after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio declared that 'Operation Epic Fury is concluded,' signalling a potential de-escalation in the Middle East conflict that has rattled markets for weeks. According to reports from The Hindu BusinessLine, the Sensex opened at 77,424.36 and was trading at 77,571.51, up 553.72 points or 0.72 per cent as of 9.16 AM, while the Nifty 50 opened at 24,171.00 and was at 24,206.65, up 173.85 points or 0.72 per cent at the same time. The positive momentum was further supported by strong global cues, with Wall Street's record-setting session overnight driving optimism across markets.
The rally came on the back of Wall Street's record-setting session overnight, with the S&P 500 gaining 0.8 per cent, the Nasdaq rising 1 per cent, and the Dow Jones climbing 0.7 per cent, all closing at fresh highs, driven by strong technology earnings and a modest pullback in crude prices. As reported by The Hindu BusinessLine, Brent crude fell to around $108 per barrel on Wednesday morning, down 1.67 per cent, while WTI crude slipped to $100.43, down 1.80 per cent. On India's Multi Commodity Exchange, July Brent futures were trading at ₹9,546, down 1.57 per cent from the previous close of ₹9,698. The positive global sentiment was reinforced by the GIFT Nifty indicating a positive start for the Indian market, suggesting continued momentum from overseas markets.
Among the top gainers, IndiGo parent InterGlobe Aviation (INDIGO) was the top gainer on the Nifty 50, rising 2.16 per cent to ₹4,330.00 from a previous close of ₹4,238.40, on volumes of 58,056 shares. According to The Hindu BusinessLine, Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) climbed 2.06 per cent to ₹3,276.80 against a previous close of ₹3,210.80, ahead of its quarterly earnings announcement, with 4,02,541 shares changing hands worth ₹13,176.50 lakhs. Shriram Finance advanced 2.03 per cent to ₹984.00 from ₹964.40, while Bajaj Finance rose 1.83 per cent to ₹976.10 against a previous close of ₹958.60 on volumes of 2,68,683 shares valued at ₹2,613.13 lakhs.
Dr. VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments, cautioned investors to read the ceasefire news carefully, noting that Nifty is now trading around 20 times TTM earnings while Nifty Midcap and Nifty Smallcap indexes are trading at 35 times and 30 times respectively. As reported by The Hindu BusinessLine, he flagged a divergence in the market and noted that when the AI trade ends and FIIs stop selling/start buying in India, largecaps will outperform. Larsen & Toubro was the sharpest loser, falling 3.19 per cent to ₹3,925.00 from a previous close of ₹4,054.50 on heavy volumes of 5,72,300 shares worth ₹22,526.93 lakhs, ahead of its results.
Technical analysts provided mixed signals for the market's near-term direction. According to The Hindu BusinessLine, Aakash Shah, Technical Research Analyst at Choice Equity Broking, noted that Nifty has 'hovered around its short- and medium-term moving averages for multiple sessions, indicating lack of strong directional conviction' and flagged 24,000 as a crucial pivot. Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Equity Research at Kotak Securities, identified 24,210/77,500 as the main resistance zone for bulls, adding that a close above 24,300/77,800 would be positive for the market as it could take the index towards 24,600/78,700. Rajesh Palviya, Head of Research at Axis Direct, highlighted the global commodity picture, noting gold is near $4,570 an ounce, silver around $72.6, and copper at $5.85 per pound.
