Indian equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty opened marginally higher on Wednesday amid mixed global cues. Buying in select energy and consumer stocks lent some support.
The BSE Sensex rose 36 points to trade at 65,967 in early deals. The NSE Nifty50 edged up 11 points to 19,795.
Among Sensex stocks, Bharat Petroleum Corporation jumped over 3% after the government named a new chairman for the company. Titan, Power Grid, Tata Motors, and Nestle India also started the day in the green.
On the flipside, private lenders like ICICI Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, and IndusInd Bank faced selling pressure. IT major TCS and metal stock JSW Steel opened lower.
In the broader market, Nifty Smallcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 50 declined up to 0.8% as traders booked profits in midcap and smallcap names after the recent run-up.
Sectorally, Nifty Realty slid nearly 0.7% and the metal index lost 0.5%. Buying in pharma, energy, and FMCG names limited the downside.
Global cues remained mixed as recession fears and Covid concerns in China tempered investors’ appetite for riskier assets. Crude oil prices edged lower while the rupee depreciated mildly against the dollar.
On Tuesday, Indian shares snapped a two-day losing streak and clocked smart gains as global sentiment improved. Sensex had rallied 276 points to end at 65,932. Nifty settled 89 points higher at 19,783.
Going ahead, traders will closely track the monthly F&O expiry for market direction amid the ongoing results season. Global trends and foreign fund flows will also remain on their radar.
