Indian Markets See Flat Opening Amid Global Investor Shift

Indian stock indices Nifty and Sensex opened flat as foreign investors turned to other Asian markets. Analysts attribute this to the outperformance of Chinese stocks. Despite FII selling, the domestic market's strength can absorb it, making dips good buy opportunities for quality stocks.

The Indian stock market indices, Nifty and Sensex, opened flat on Tuesday, signaling a consolidation phase as foreign investors turned their attention toward other Asian markets like China and Hong Kong. The Nifty 50 index saw a marginal dip of 22.40 points, or 0.09 percent, landing at 25,788 points. Simultaneously, the BSE Sensex opened at 84,257, declining by 42 points, which is a 0.05 percent decrease.

According to market experts, a significant shift in capital flow from Indian markets to other Asian regions has led to this consolidation. "The market is likely to consolidate in the near term, driven by the strong performance of Chinese stocks. The Hang Seng index surged about 18 percent in September, spurred by hopes of a Chinese economic revival through recent monetary and fiscal stimulus measures," said V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services. This trend could lead Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) to continue selling in India, although the robust domestic capital is expected to absorb these outflows. Vijayakumar suggested that investors could take advantage of dips to buy quality large-cap stocks that are fairly valued.

In sectoral indices, most sectors opened with gains except for Nifty FMCG, Nifty Metal, Nifty Media, and Nifty Pharma. Top gainers on the Nifty 50 list included Tech Mahindra, Wipro, and Infosys. Among the top losers were Asian Paints, JSW Steel, Hindalco, and Tata Steel. Despite a rally last week, metal sector shares are seeing some profit-taking.

Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Equity Research at Kotak Securities, highlighted the market's current weak and volatile structure. "So long as the market trades below the 26000/85000 levels, weak sentiment is likely to persist, and we could see a decline towards 25700-25500/84000-82400," he noted. Meanwhile, Asian markets saw varied performances; China and Hong Kong markets remained closed for a holiday after a strong rally on Monday, while Japan's Nikkei 225 index climbed 2 percent on Tuesday. (ANI)

(With inputs from agencies.)