Live: Sensex, Nifty Off Day’s High; Metals, Pharma Outperform

Indian equity markets have opened higher for the second straight day, making a move towards fresh record highs.

The S&P BSE Sensex opened 0.6% higher at 44,164 while the NSE Nifty 50 index opened 0.8% higher and 40 points shy of 13,000 at 12,960.

Among the sectoral indices, the PSU Bank index has opened with gains of 0.8% while the Nifty Bank, Nifty Auto and Nifty Realty indices are trading with gains of 0.7% each.

Broader markets have opened with strong gains as well. The Nifty Midcap index is up 0.8% while the Smallcap index is outperforming with gains of over 1.2%.

1,162 stocks on the NSE are trading with gains while 316 stocks are declining in the early minutes of trade.

Good Morning!

Indian equity markets managed to end the truncated week with modest gains. Both the Sensex and Nifty 50 managed to advance for the third straight week.

Futures are indicating that the new week may begin on a steady note. The Singapore-traded SGX Nifty, an early indicator of the Nifty 50 Index’s performance in India, rose 0.4% to 12,932 as of 8:15 a.m. on Monday.

Private banks will be in focus after the RBI's internal working group recommendations. Also, Motherson Sumi and Jindal Steel & Power Ltd. will be in focus based on news flow around the companies.

In the F&O space, the 13,000 call option of the Nifty for the monthly expiry has 36 lakh shares in open interest. Among stocks in the F&O ban, Nalco is the new entrant to the list, while SAIL and Sun TV are out.

Among Asian equities, benchmarks in South Korea are outperforming and those in Australia are trading with gains. Japanese markets are shut due to a holiday.

Futures on the Dow Jones are currently trading higher by 80 points. The index ended 0.7% lower on Friday.

West Texas Intermediate crude was little changed at $42.4 per barrel.

Short on time? Well, then listen to this podcast for a quick summary of All You Need To Know before the opening bell.