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Indian stock markets opened almost flat on Thursday with a marginal decline in the opening session.
However, investors remained confident about the market outlook, supported by positive developments between India and the US, as well as the upcoming GST 2.0 rollout. The Nifty 50 index opened at 24,945.50, slipping by 27.60 points or 0.11 per cent, while the BSE Sensex started the day at 81,217.30, down by 207.85 points or 0.26 per cent. Market expert Ajay Bagga said Indian markets continue to show upward momentum, with IT stocks finally starting to participate. "Exchange of conciliatory and complimentary messages on social media between President Trump and Prime Minister Modi helped lift market sentiment on hopes of a trade deal," he told ANI. He further added that futures were mildly positive in the morning and highlighted the factors driving domestic markets. "The GST 2.0 boost that should set in from September 22 onwards and Fitch raising Indian growth forecast for FY2026 to 6.9 per cent are driving markets with domestic consumption, durables, auto stocks in focus. Financials are also trying to recover. We expect continued positive sentiment in the markets despite the global geopolitical risks rising with Russian drones entering Poland and Israel launching an air strike on Qatar," Bagga noted. In the broader market indices on NSE, the Nifty 100 index was down by 0.08 per cent, while the Nifty Midcap 100 gained 0.16 per cent and the Nifty Smallcap 100 rose by 0.24 per cent. Among sectoral indices, Nifty Auto was up by 0.13 per cent, Nifty IT advanced by 0.23 per cent, Nifty FMCG was marginally lower by 0.02 per cent, and Nifty PSU Bank climbed by 0.25 per cent. Global cues also added strength to investor sentiment. In the US, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq closed at fresh records, while the Dow was muted due to Apple's underperformance. Vikram Kasat,Head Advisory, PL Capital said "In US an unexpected slowdown in wholesale inflation and Oracle's massive AI surprise helped the S&P 500 clinch another record Wednesday. On the hourly chart, Nifty index has broken the short-term resistance line with a gap, which is a good sign for the bulls. On the way down, the reversal level can be trailed to a higher hourly low i.e. 24750". Asian markets followed the strong US close, with Japan's Nikkei 225 index surging more than 1 per cent, Taiwan's weighted index gaining 1.11 per cent, and South Korea's KOSPI up 0.39 per cent. However, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index slipped 0.4 per cent in early trade. US Producer Price data for August, showing deflationary trends, has boosted hopes of an interest rate cut, while investors await today's Consumer Price Inflation number for further cues. Overall, while Indian indices opened flat, optimism remains high with supportive domestic reforms, growth forecasts, and improving global cues keeping investor sentiment buoyant. (ANI)
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