Indian Markets Open with Gains, Await Powell's Speech

Indian markets opened with marginal gains on Friday, with the Nifty 50 and BSE Sensex indices both edging higher. Analysts expect a positive day but caution about possible range-bound activity ahead of Powell's speech. Mixed results were seen across sectoral indices, and Asian markets mostly declined.

Indian markets continued their upward trend on Friday, as both major indices opened with marginal gains. The Nifty 50 index saw an increase of 0.14 percent, or 33.60 points, reaching 24,845.10 points. The BSE Sensex also rose by 0.14 percent, or 112.46 points, to 81,165.65 points.

Ajay Bagga, a Banking and Market Expert, said, "We expect a mildly positive day for the Indian markets, with positions being reduced in the second half as Powell's speech will be at night for Indian markets. FIIs turned net buyers on Thursday, only the 3rd day in August that this happened. Markets are waiting for the Jackson Hole speech event to pass before resuming their march upwards." On the Nifty 50 list, 32 stocks gained at the opening, while 10 declined and 8 remained unchanged. However, sectoral indices on the NSE had a mixed performance.

Nifty Bank, Nifty Financial Services, Nifty IT, and Nifty Private Bank indices faced pressure and declined during the opening session. Conversely, sectors such as Nifty Auto, Nifty FMCG, Nifty Media, and Nifty Metal registered gains. Top gainers on the NSE at the opening included Bajaj Auto, Tata Motors, Apollo Hospitals, Reliance, and Hindalco, while the top losers were LTI Mindtree, Infosys, Asian Paints, IndusInd Bank, and NTPC.

Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Equity Research at Kotak Securities, noted, "In the short term, the market texture is still positive, but due to temporary overbought conditions, we may see range-bound activity in the near future. The key support zones are 24750-24700/80800-80650, and the key resistance zones are 24900-24950/81400-81600. However, a closing below 24600/80300 would be negative for the market in the short term." Asian markets showed a downward trend on Friday. Japan's Nikkei index fell by 93 points or 0.25 percent, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index dropped by 0.84 percent. Taiwan's Taiwan Weighted also declined by 0.77 percent, while Indonesia's markets bucked the trend, posting a gain of 0.74 percent.

In the US markets on Thursday, the Nasdaq experienced a decline of 1.67 percent, while the S&P Global fell by 0.89 percent. Back in India, Thursday's stock market session closed with minor gains in a range-bound environment. The NSE Nifty 50 edged up by 0.17 percent to close at 24,811.50, while the BSE Sensex gained 0.18 percent, ending the day at 81,053.19.

(With inputs from agencies.)