Indian equity benchmark indices opened flat on Thursday, tracking muted sentiment in Asian markets as uncertainty over the future of US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell kept investors on edge.At 9:19 am, the BSE Sensex was up 33 points, or 0.04%, at 82,668, while the Nifty50 rose 8 points, or 0.03%, to 25,230.MSCIs broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was also flat, while the US dollar and Treasury yields dipped after President Donald Trump said he was highly unlikely to fire Powell.In early trade, gainers on the Sensex included Trent, M&M, BEL, Sun Pharma, SBI, Bharti Airtel, and Titan.
On the other hand, Tech Mahindra, ICICI Bank, Adani Ports, and Axis Bank opened in the red.Shares of M&M and SBI were rising nearly 1% each in the early trade.Live EventsTech Mahindra was the top laggard, falling over 1% after the company posted lower-than-expected Q1 revenue.
The decline was driven by a sharp drop in sales from its Americas marketthe steepest in nearly five years.Nifty Auto, Metal, FMCG, Pharma, Realty, and Consumer Durables rose between 0.2% and 1%, while Nifty Financial Services, IT, and Private Bank indices opened lower.Meanwhile, Axis Bank, Wipro and Jio Financial Services are scheduled to detail their earnings on the day.Experts View"There are no triggers for the market to break out of the consolidation range in which it has been stuck for two months now.
Even an India-US interim trade deal has been discounted by the market, leaving no scope for a sharp rally decisively breaking the range.
One positive and surprise factor that can trigger a rally is a tariff rate much below 20%, say 15%, which the market has not discounted.
So, watch out for developments on the trade and tariff front," said Dr.
VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit."Results of the IT sector continue to disappoint and, therefore, this can remain a drag on the overall market.
Leading private sector banks are in a defensive mode now.
The market is discounting NIM compression in the Q1 results.
But this will reverse from Q3 onwards making them good buys now.
From the valuation perspective PSU banks are attractive," Vijayakumar added.Mandar Bhojane, Senior Technical & Derivative Analyst at Choice Broking, said, "The index witnessed a bullish follow-up candle after forming a Morning Star pattern at key support yesterday.
This indicates strengthening momentum.
For sustained upward movement, Nifty must hold above 25,330.
Upside resistance is seen at 25,60025,700, while 25,000 acts as immediate support."Global MarketsAsian stocks dithered on Thursday ahead of earnings from heavyweight technology companies and as market anxiety lingered over the uncertain tenure of Federal Reserve chief Jerome Powell.MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up just 0.06% and the Nikkei slipped 0.24%.European futures jumped as EUROSTOXX 50 futures rose 0.56% and FTSE and DAX futures added about 0.4% each.
Nasdaq futures and S&P 500 futures fell 0.1% each.FII/DII TrackerForeign Institutional Investors (FIIs) continued to reduce exposure, selling equities worth Rs 1,858 crore on July 16.
In contrast, Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) remained consistent buyers for the 8th straight session, infusing Rs 1,223 crore, lending crucial support to the market amid global uncertainties.Crude OilOil prices rose in early trade on Thursday, reversing the previous session's losses, buoyed by stronger-than-expected economic data from the worlds top oil consumers and signs of easing trade tensions.Brent crude futures rose 27 cents, or 0.39%, to $68.79 a barrel at 0000 GMT.
U.S.
West Texas Intermediate crude futures were up 31 cents, or 0.47%, at $66.69.
Both benchmarks fell more than 0.2% in the previous session.(With inputs from agencies)