Following gains from Asian peers, Indian equity indices opened higher for the second consecutive day on Wednesday, led by the index heavyweight Reliance Industries, banking and financial stocks.

The BSE Sensex was trading 288 points or 0.40% higher at 72,474. Nifty50 was trading at 22,025, up 96 points or 0.44% at around 9.20 am.

Among the Sensex stocks, Axis Bank, SBI, Asian Paints, Titan, and M&M were the top gainers, rising 1-2%. Power Grid, Infosys, Wipro, HCL Tech, and Tech Mahindra opened lower.

Nykaa shares opened nearly 6% higher after the firm nearly doubled its consolidated net profit to Rs 16.2 crore for the quarter ended December.

Max Financial Services shares surged over 5% in early trade after insurance regulator Irdai approved a capital infusion of Rs 1,612 crore by Axis Bank into Max Life.

Nazara Technologies also rose nearly 6% after the firm’s net profit jumped 47% YoY to Rs 30 crore in Q3.Sector-wise, Nifty PSU Bank rose 2.5% and Nifty Realty surged 2.2%. Nifty Media and Metal also rose over 1%. In the broader market, Nifty Midcap100 gained 0.71%, while Smallcap100 advanced .1.08%.Experts Take
“A significant feature of the ongoing bull market is its ability to bounce back from dips. This makes the buy on dips strategy successful. The bounce back happening now is being led by IT and supported by autos and pharma even while Bank Nifty continues to decline,” said V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services.

“An area of concern is the excessive speculation in low-grade stocks where many are doubling in a few days. These excesses of a bull market warrant caution. Investors should stay in the comfort of high quality stocks,” Vijayakumar suggested.

Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research at HDFC Securities, said, “Nifty could now face resistance in the 21970-22125 band while 21727 could offer support on downfalls.”

Global Markets
Asian markets gained after China announced measures to curb short-selling and expand stock-buying by state-owned funds to protect its markets. The Kospi was up 0.8% in early trade, while Shanghai stocks added 0.9%. Wall Street equities closed higher overnight.

FII/DII Tracker
Foreign portfolio investors (FPI) sold a record amount of financials stocks in January but loaded up on IT shares and energy stocks.

They bought a net Rs 92.52 crore worth of shares across sectors on Tuesday, while domestic institutional investors bought stocks worth Rs 1,096 crore on a net basis, according to exchange data.

Oil Rises
Oil prices ticked higher on Wednesday, as growth in U.S. oil production is expected to remain largely steady through 2025, easing worries of excess supply.

Brent crude futures rose 38 cents, or 0.5%, to $78.97 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude climbed 41 cents, or 0.6%, to $73.72. Both contracts had gained slightly on Monday.

Currency Watch
The Indian rupee rose 2 paise to $83.03 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 0.07% to 104.14 level.

(With inputs from agencies)

(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of Economic Times)

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