Indian equity markets opened on a positive note on Monday, September 16, 2024, buoyed by strong global cues and continued foreign institutional investor (FII) inflows.

The BSE Sensex opened at 82,985.33, up from its previous close of 82,890.94, while the NSE Nifty started the day at 25,406.65, higher than Friday’s close of 25,356.50.

At 9:30 AM, top gainers on the NSE included Adani Enterprises (1.80 per cent), Hindalco (1.52 per cent), NTPC (1.32 per cent), Grasim Industries (1.09 per cent), and Tata Steel (0.96 per cent). Conversely, the top losers were Hindustan Unilever (-2.17 per cent), Britannia (-1.57 per cent), Hero Motocorp (-0.75 per cent), Nestle India (-0.45 per cent), and SBI Life (-0.43 per cent).

The positive sentiment was largely attributed to expectations of a potential interest rate cut by the US Federal Reserve in its upcoming meeting. Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Equity Research at Kotak Securities, commented, “The bullish trend is likely to continue for Bank Nifty as long as it trades above the 50-day SMA (Simple Moving Average) or 51300. On the upside, it can move towards 52250-52700.”

Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research) at Mehta Equities Ltd., noted, “Gift Nifty is racing towards record highs, while investor optimism builds ahead of the Federal Reserve’s expected interest rate cut.”

The market also welcomed the listing of Bajaj Housing Finance, which debuted on the exchanges after receiving bids worth ₹3,80,000 crore for its ₹6,560 crore IPO. The grey market premium (GMP) for the stock remained above 100 per cent.

Deven Mehata, Derivative Analyst at Choice Broking, provided support and resistance levels for the day, stating, “Nifty can find support at 25,300 followed by 25,200 and 25,150. On the higher side, 25,450 can be an immediate resistance, followed by 25,500 and 25,600.”

FII activity remained strong, with net buying of equities worth ₹2,364 crore on September 13, while domestic institutional investors purchased equities worth ₹2,532 crore on the same day.

Vikas Jain, Head of Research at Reliance Securities, highlighted potential sectoral movements, saying, “Positive on NBFC – Housing Finance, Gem & Jewelry, Gold Finance, mid-cap and metal stocks.”

In the commodities market, crude oil futures traded higher, with November Brent oil futures at $71.69, up by 0.11 per cent, and November WTI crude oil futures at $67.92, up by 0.25 per cent at 9:16 AM.

Gold prices hit a fresh record high, with spot gold reaching $2,585.63. Rahul Kalantri, VP Commodities at Mehta Equities Ltd., commented, “We anticipate that gold and silver prices will remain buoyant in today’s session, supported by a soft dollar index, a rebound in crude oil prices, and a likelihood of maintaining their support levels of $2,550 and $30.00 per troy ounce, respectively, on a weekly closing basis.”

The week ahead promises to be action-packed for Dalal Street, with seven new public issues and 13 stock exchange debuts scheduled. Key stocks to watch include Wipro, Persistent Systems, and LTTS.

However, FMCG stocks may face headwinds due to the government’s decision to hike customs duty on refined palm, soybean, and sunflower oil from 12.5 per cent to 32.5 per cent.

Investors will be closely monitoring central bank decisions this week, including those from the Bank of England, the Bank of Japan, and the People’s Bank of China. The US Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision on Wednesday is expected to be a crucial market mover.

As the trading day progresses, market participants will be watching for any developments that could impact the current bullish sentiment, particularly in light of the anticipated Fed rate decision and its potential implications for global markets.

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