Indian Equities Open Marginally Higher on Weekly Expiry Day

On the weekly expiry day, Indian equities started positively, tracking the mixed performance of Asian financial markets. The BSE Sensex rose by 0.23 percent or 188 points, reaching 81,689, while the Nifty increased by 15 points or 0.06 percent, settling at 24,986.

Sector Performance

Despite the overall positive opening, certain sectors faced challenges. The auto, real estate, FMCG, and private banking indices traded lower, with the Nifty Auto index dropping by more than 1 percent. Conversely, the Nifty Smallcap 100 showed stronger performance compared to the larger indices.

Top Stocks and Laggards

Among the top gainers from the Nifty pack, Hindalco, L&T, Infosys, Wipro, and Sun Pharma led the charge. Meanwhile, Bajaj Auto, Hero MotoCorp, M&M, Maruti Suzuki, and Eicher Motors were identified as the laggards.

Market Outlook

Dr. V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services, commented on the market dynamics, expressing optimism as the Dow Jones reached a new record high. He noted the resilience of the US economy and strong corporate earnings suggesting the continuation of a bullish trend. With expectations of a possible 25 basis points rate cut by the Federal Reserve in the upcoming meeting, the S&P 500 could surpass the 6000 mark, potentially boosting global equity markets.

Focus on Corporate Earnings

Specific stock movements are expected as investors react to Q2 earnings reports from companies such as L&T Technology and Bajaj Auto.

Current Sentiment

Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research) at Mehta Equities, mentioned the recent downturn where the Nifty fell below the 25,000 mark, leading to cautious trading. He highlighted that while today's session aims for recovery, sentiment remains delicate due to persistent foreign institutional investor (FII) selling, which accounted for ₹67,300 crore in October outflows, along with disappointing Q2 earnings, ongoing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, and concerns about China's economic situation.

Asian Market Movements

In the broader Asian market context, trading was mixed. The MSCI Asia ex-Japan index saw a slight uptick, with indices like Hang Seng and Straits Times gaining up to 1 percent, while Japan's Nikkei faced a decline of 0.5 percent.

Equity, Indices, Markets