Indian stock market opens higher amid potential US tariff flexibility

Mumbai:  The domestic benchmark indices opened higher on Monday amid positive global cues, as US President Donald Trump signalled potential reciprocal tariff flexibility.

Buying was seen in the PSU bank and realty sectors in the early trade.

At around 9.32 am, Sensex was trading 414.98 points or 0.54 per cent up at 77,320.49 while the Nifty climbed 137.80 points or 0.59 per cent at 23,488.20.

Nifty Bank was up 393.45 points or 0.78 per cent at 50,987.00 The Nifty Midcap 100 index was trading at 52,375.50 after adding 524.75 points or 1.01 per cent. Nifty Smallcap 100 index was at 16,423.40 after climbing 238.45 points or 1.47 per cent.

The upcoming Q4 FY25 earnings reports are also expected to show robust results, potentially lifting the overall sentiment, said market watchers, adding that the underlying trend of Nifty continues to remain positive.

“Nifty is facing immediate resistance at the 200 EMA of 23,400. If this hurdle is surpassed, markets could advance toward the next resistance level of 23,800 in the near term. Support for the Nifty has shifted upward to the 23,200-23,250 band,” said Devarsh Vakil, Head of Prime Research at HDFC Securities.

Meanwhile, In the Sensex pack, L&T, PowerGrid, NTPC, Tech Mahindra, Kotak Mahindra Bank, HCLTech, Tata Motors, Bajaj Finance, Maruti Suzuki and Sun Pharma were the top gainers. Whereas, Titan, UltraTech Cement, Hindustan Unilever Limited and Infosys were the top losers.

In the last trading session on Friday, Dow Jones in the US added 0.08 per cent to close at 41,985.35. The S&P 500 climbed 0.08 per cent to 5,667.56 and the Nasdaq raised 0.52 per cent to close at 17,784.05.

In the Asian markets, Hong Kong, Jakarta, China, Japan, Seoul and Bangkok were trading in red.

US index futures are also buoyant on signs that the next round of Trump’s trade tariffs on April 2 could be more measured than previously suggested.

On the institutional front, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) continued their buying streak for the second consecutive day on March 21 (last trading session), purchasing equities worth Rs 7,470.36 crore. Meanwhile, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) extended their selling spree, offloading equities worth Rs 3,202.26 crore on the same day.

–IANS