Market Opens Marginally Higher On Friday

The Indian stock market opened with minor gains on Friday remaining negative for two consecutive days after the announcement of the Union Budget 2024-25.

The BSE Sensex opened at 80,170.88, up 131.08 points or 0.16 per cent, and Nifty at the National Stock Exchange (NSE) was up 52.10 points or 0.21 per cent at 24,458.20.

Among the sectoral indices at NSE, the Bank, Financial Services, FMCG, and Private Banks opened in red territory while the Auto, Financial Services, Nifty IT, Media, Pharma, Metal, PSU Bank, Realty, Healthcare, Consumer Durables, Oil and Gas stocks opened in green.

The major gainers in the starting hours of the trade are Shriram Finance, LTIMindtree, Bharti Airtel, Infosys, and Hindalco. On the other hand, the stocks of Tech Mahindra, HDFC Bank, ONGC, Maruti, and Nestle India remained the top losers in the initial hour trade.

The results of Reliance Industries, Wipro, Bajaj Finance, Axis Bank, and Nestle have negatively contributed to the sentiments of investors in the last week.

"The Union Budget has been digested by the markets. On balance, but for the disappointment on the personal tax, enhanced capital gains tweaks, if we compare the Budget to FY2024, it ticks all the key priorities," said Ajay Bagga, a banking and market expert.

Weaker-than-expected results from Reliance Industries, Wipro, Bajaj Finance, Axis Bank and Nestle have weighed on markets through the course of the week, as did the union budget on Tuesday, in which tax hikes on capital gains in equity investments and derivatives trading were announced.

Technically, Nifty 50 showed resilience despite global weakness, forming a bullish counterattack pattern on its daily chart, with significant support found near its 20-day Exponential Moving Average (EMA). This suggests potential for an upward rebound in the near term, despite ongoing choppy conditions.

"Looking ahead, the short-term outlook for Nifty remains sideways, expected to trade within the range of 24,200 to 24,600. A breakout beyond these levels could signal a shift in momentum, while breaches below 24,100 might trigger deeper corrections," said Varun Aggarwal MD, Profit Idea.

On Wall Street, US stocks closed mixed as key economic data and corporate earnings drove divergent movements. The Dow Jones gained 81.20 points to 39,935.07, while the S&P 500 declined by 27.91 points to 5,399.22, and the Nasdaq Composite fell by 160.69 points to 17,181.72. (ANI)