Markets Open Higher As Heavyweights Lift Sentiment; Midcaps & Smallcaps Under Pressure

Indian stock markets started Wednesday on a positive note, driven by gains in key stocks such as Infosys, ICICI Bank, Tech Mahindra, and Maruti Suzuki. However, global cues remained mixed.

At 9:20 AM, the Sensex climbed 178 points (0.24%) to 76,203, while the Nifty gained 29 points (0.13%) to reach 23,195.

Market breadth on the BSE showed 1,017 stocks advancing, 1,533 declining, and 127 remaining unchanged.

Midcap and smallcap stocks faced selling pressure in early trade.

The Nifty Midcap 100 index dropped 278 points (0.54%) to 50,951, and the Nifty Smallcap 100 index declined 158 points (0.99%) to 15,824.

Auto, IT, financial services, realty, and private banking stocks registered gains, while FMCG, metal, energy, and infrastructure stocks were among the major losers.

In the Sensex basket, top performers included Infosys, HDFC Bank, Maruti Suzuki, Tech Mahindra, ICICI Bank, Bharti Airtel, M&M, Kotak Mahindra, Axis Bank, Bajaj Finserv, and L&T.

On the losing side, Nestle, Power Grid, NTPC, UltraTech Cement, HUL, Tata Motors, HCL Tech, and SBI recorded declines.

According to Hardik Matalia, Derivative Analyst at Choice Broking, Nifty may find support at 23,100, followed by 23,000 and 22,950.

“On the higher side, 23,300 can be an immediate resistance, followed by 23,400 and 23,500,” he stated.

Asian markets were mixed, with Tokyo, Seoul, and Hong Kong trading in the red, while Shanghai and Bangkok showed gains.

US markets also reflected a mixed trend on Tuesday – while the Dow saw a slight dip, the tech-heavy Nasdaq advanced 0.87%.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 5,901 crore on April 1, marking their second consecutive day of selling.

Meanwhile, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) continued their buying streak for a third session, purchasing stocks worth Rs 4,322 crore.

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