Gains in RIL, banking stocks buoy Nifty above 17,000

Indian equity indices opened marginally higher on Monday amid mixed global cues, led by index heavyweight Reliance Industries, banking and financial stocks.

Nifty 50 index rose 60 points or 0.36% to 17,005 while the S&P BSE Sensex added 130 points or 0.23% to 57,657 as of 9.31 am.

From the Sensex pack, Power Grid, Asian Paints, Bajaj Finance and Bharti Airtel were the top gainers, up about 0.5-1%. NTPC, Kotak Bank, Tata Steel, RIL and Infosys also opened with gains. Whereas, M&M, Titan, ITC, Axis Bank and HUL opened with cuts.

On the sectoral front, Nifty Metal rose 0.60% and Nifty Healthcare index 0.49%. While, auto, FMCG, PSU bank and consumer durables indices opened lower. In the broader market, Nifty Smallcap50 fell 0.27% and Nifty Midcap50 dropped 0.11%.

Expert View
"The element of uncertainty in global markets continues. Actions by US authorities have brought near-term stability to the US banking system but we don’t know what lies ahead. Investors should remain cautious till stability returns," V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services, said.

"Interest rates in India are likely to decline towards the end 2023 after, perhaps, one more 25 bp rate hike in the next MPC meet. Declining interest rate scenario is favourable for debt funds," Vijayakumar added.

Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research at HDFC Securities, said, "Global developments on the banking front and uncertain US Fed rate pathway ahead are bringing uncertainties for the market participants. Nifty has made a short-term top at 17,207, which could act as a resistance in the near future. It could go towards 16,748 over the next few days."

Global Markets
Asian stocks were mixed Monday in a cautious start to what could be another rocky week for global markets, after a rout in banking shares renewed fears for the sector.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan edged up 0.1%, with trading cautious. Japan's Nikkei gained 0.5%, while South Korea's Kospi fell 0.13%. Meanwhile, S&P 500 futures firmed 0.5% in early trade while Nasdaq futures added 0.4%.

Crude Prices Stabilise
Oil prices stabilised in Asian trade as investors sought cues from broader financial markets, while comments by Russian President Vladimir Putin over the weekend ratcheted up geopolitical tensions in Europe.

Brent crude futures held unchanged at $74.99 a barrel after hitting a session high of $75.64. US West Texas Intermediate crude was at $69.29 a barrel, up 3 cents, after rising to $69.92 earlier in the session.

Rupee Strengthens
The Indian rupee rose 7 paise to $82.33 against the US dollar in early trade. The dollar index, which tracks the movement of the greenback against a basket of six major world currencies, declined 0.10% to 103.01 level.

(With inputs from agencies)