Indian Equities Poised for Slight Uptick in Opening, Impact of Middle East Tensions
The Indian stock market is expected to open with slight gains after a challenging week marked by high oil prices, elevated US yields, and Middle East tensions. The GIFT Nifty rose by 0.34%, surpassing the Nifty 50's Friday closing value. Across Asia, markets remained cautious, with Wall Street also closing lower due to ongoing concerns about elevated US inflation. Middle East tensions persist as Israel launched a series of attacks, and Brent crude oil prices remain high. The market is also awaiting the quarterly results of Reliance Industries. Foreign institutional investors sold shares, while domestic institutional investors bought shares in the previous session.
Karobar
BENGALURU: Following a week of lackluster performance, Indian blue-chip stocks were primed for a marginal opening gain on Monday. This comes after they endured their most challenging week in over a month, while Asian markets remained cautious amid the ongoing Middle East conflict.
As of 8:06 a.m. IST, India's GIFT Nifty exhibited a 0.34% rise, standing at 19,092, surpassing the Nifty 50's Friday closing value of 19,047.25.
Both the Nifty 50 and Sensex grappled with significant losses of nearly 2.5% in the previous week. These losses were largely attributed to surging oil prices, elevated US yields, and mounting concerns about the Middle East conflict.
Markets appeared subdued on Monday, with the MSCI Asia ex-Japan index experiencing a 0.17% dip.
On the other side of the globe, Wall Street closed lower on Friday as the latest data indicated that US inflation remained at elevated levels throughout September.
Simultaneously, the situation in the Middle East remains fraught with uncertainty. Israel's announcement of striking over 450 Hamas targets on Sunday and declaring a "second phase" in their offensive against Hamas militants has contributed to the cautious sentiment. In addition, Brent crude futures continued to hover around the $90 per barrel mark, which is a concerning development for oil-importing countries like India.
VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services, remarked, "The Israel-Hamas conflict in West Asia and the uncertainty surrounding the conflict has added to negative sentiments in the market." Additionally, investors are awaiting market reactions to the quarterly results of Reliance Industries.
The conglomerate, known for its diverse interests ranging from oil to telecommunications, posted weaker-than-expected quarterly profits after-market hours on Friday. A drop in revenue from fuel sales significantly impacted its core oil-to-chemicals business.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were noted to have offloaded shares worth 15 billion rupees ($180.15 million) on a net basis last Friday. Conversely, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought shares with a net value of 3.14 billion rupees.
