Mumbai: The domestic benchmark indices opened higher on Monday, driven by buying in the IT and auto sectors.

At around 9:32 a.m., the Sensex was trading at 79,470.61 after rising 247.50 points or 0.31 percent, while the Nifty was trading at 24,065 after gaining 60.25 points or 0.25 percent.

On the National Stock Exchange (NSE), 678 stocks were trading in green, while 1,302 stocks were in red.

The Nifty Bank was down 139.60 points, or 0.27 percent, at 50,849.20. The Nifty Midcap 100 index was trading at 57,823.65 after dropping 107.40 points, or 0.19 percent. The Nifty Smallcap 100 index was at 18,949.75 after declining 83.95 points, or 0.44 percent.

According to market experts, the December auto numbers domestically indicate that the much-talked-about urban demand deceleration is exaggerated.

“Buying will resume in these resilient domestic segments, supporting the market on declines,” they said, adding that given the current market setup, traders are advised to consider buying on dips as long as the index holds above 24,000, with 23,800 as a closing-basis stop-loss to manage risks effectively.

On the sectoral front, selling was seen in the PSU bank, Financial Service, Pharmaceutical, FMCG, Metal, and Real Estate sectors.

In the Sensex pack, Titan, Bajaj Finance, Infosys, Bajaj Finserv, M&M, TCS, Tech Mahindra, HCL Tech, Zomato, and Axis Bank were the top gainers. Meanwhile, Kotak Mahindra Bank, IndusInd Bank, Tata Steel, PowerGrid, NTPC, Maruti, Asian Paints, and SBI were the top losers.

The Dow Jones gained 0.80 per cent to close at 42,732.13. The S&P 500 gained 1.26 per cent to 5,942.50 and the Nasdaq gained 1.77 percent to close at 19,621.68 in the last trading session.

In the Asian markets, only Seoul traded in the green, while Jakarta, Hong Kong, Bangkok, China, and Japan traded in the red.

“The external macro construct continues to be unfavourable with the dollar index at 109 and the 10-year US bond yield at 4.62 per cent. The FIIs are likely to continue selling till the yields decline and the dollar stabilises,” said experts.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold equities worth Rs 4,227.25 crore on January 3, and domestic institutional investors bought equities worth Rs 820.60 crore on the same day.

The market outlook for this week will be guided by Q3 results, crude oil prices, FIIs and domestic economic data.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

–IANS
Infographics: Pinaki Paul