Indian equity markets appeared cautious on Wednesday after staging a strong rebound in the previous trading session, as investors assessed global cues, crude oil movements and developments related to the West Asia conflict.
The BSE Sensex rang the opening bell near 78,150, slipping close to 50 points, while the NSE Nifty50 started the day above 24,200, taking a hit of 30 points, around 9:15 AM.
The tentative pre-open movement follows Tuesday’s sharp recovery in domestic equities after two consecutive sessions of heavy losses triggered by geopolitical tensions and surging oil prices.
At around 9:13 AM in the pre-open hour, the Sensex was quoted at 78,238.91, up 32.93 points or 0.04 per cent. The Nifty was trading at 24,231.85, down 29.75 points or 0.12 per cent, indicating a largely flat-to-muted start for the benchmarks.
Top Gainers And Losers
On the 30-share Sensex, IndiGo, Tata Steel, Adani Ports, NTPC, and Sun Pharma emerged among the early gainers. Meanwhile, the laggards included ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, Kotak Bank, HUL, and HDFC Bank.
In the broader markets, the Nifty Microcap250 stood out with a jump of more than 1 per cent. On the other hand, the Nifty Financial Services index fell 0.64 per cent.
Sectorally, Metal and Media indices poised largest gains and climbed 1.44 per cent and 1.29 per cent respectively. At the same time, the Private Bank index took a hit of 0.83 per cent.
Markets Rebound After Two Days Of Sharp Decline
Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty ended nearly 1 per cent higher on Tuesday as investors returned to risk assets following a correction in crude oil prices and a recovery in global markets.
The 30-share Sensex climbed 639.82 points, or 0.82 per cent, to settle at 78,205.98. During the session, the index rallied as much as 960.09 points, or 1.23 per cent, to touch an intra-day high of 78,526.25.
The NSE Nifty advanced 233.55 points, or 0.97 per cent, to close at 24,261.60.
Market participants said the rebound was driven by easing geopolitical concerns and improving sentiment across global markets after a period of heightened volatility.
A key factor supporting the recovery was the sharp drop in crude oil prices, which had earlier spiked amid fears of supply disruptions linked to the West Asia conflict.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, declined 9.03 per cent to $90.26 per barrel, easing concerns about inflation and macroeconomic pressure for oil-importing countries such as India. According to analysts, the correction in oil prices helped restore confidence in risk assets after markets had been rattled by the earlier surge in energy prices.
