Sensex and Nifty opened flat on Wednesday after a sharp rally in the previous session, as elevated oil prices and sustained foreign fund outflows weighed on sentiment, while investors assessed corporate earnings.
The 30-share BSE Sensex opened at 73,049.76, up 15.98 points, or 0.02%. The NSE Nifty 50 was trading at 22,715.75, down 6.20 points, or 0.03%, at the opening.
GIFT Nifty futures were at 22,764 at 7:50 am, signalling a muted start for the Nifty 50, which closed at 22,721.95 on Tuesday, according to Reuters data.
The Nifty and Sensex gained about 1.6% each on Tuesday, led by information technology stocks after HCLTech’s quarterly earnings beat expectations.
The benchmark Sensex rebounded sharply on Tuesday, gaining 1,109 points to close near the day’s high. The rally was supported by gains in IT, financial and FMCG shares, a recovery in the rupee and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s remarks on long-term capital gains (LTCG) tax.
The 30-share BSE Sensex settled at 73,033.78, posting its best single-day gains in four months. During the session, it surged 1,120.99 points, or 1.55%, to hit an intraday high of 73,045.67.
The 50-share NSE Nifty climbed 358.60 points, or 1.60%, to end at 22,721.95, marking its best single-day rebound in more than two months.
“While earnings and strength in IT provided some support, the rising crude oil prices on escalating Mideast tensions remain a significant concern, as they keep inflationary and external balance risks elevated,” Reuters quoted Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money, as saying.
“Overall, the near-term outlook has improved following the recent recovery, but the broader trend remains cautious,” Ponmudi said.
Oil prices rose to around $107 a barrel as traders weighed supply risks from fighting between Yemen’s Iran-allied Houthis and Saudi Arabia against the prospect of increased diesel supplies from Russia.
Other Asian shares edged higher on Wednesday, with AI-linked stocks finding some relief after losses in the previous session. However, caution ahead of US inflation data due later in the day capped gains.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) remained net sellers of domestic stocks for the 13th consecutive session on Tuesday, recording outflows of ₹13.05 billion ($136.96 million). Domestic institutional investors, meanwhile, bought shares worth a net ₹24.39 billion, according to provisional NSE data.
Among individual stocks, Tata Elxsi could gain after the engineering research and development firm reported higher quarterly profit, supported by growth in its transportation and media segments.
Anand Rathi Share and Stock Brokers reported a sharp sequential rise in net profit, while Transformers and Rectifiers India posted more than a twofold increase in September-quarter profit from a year earlier.