SENSEX, NIFTY50 slip in the red after opening higher; Bajaj Auto, Eicher Motors, M&M among top movers

At 9:15 am, the NIFTY50 index opened 0.27% or 67 points higher at 24,398.50 points, compared to the previous stock market close level of 24,330.95 points, according to NSE data.

The BSE SENSEX index also opened 0.48% or 380 points higher at 78,339.24 points on May 7, compared to its 77,958.52 point close in the previous market session, as per the exchange data.

After the opening bell, both NIFTY50 and BSE SENSEX slid into the negative territory in the early trading session. The Gift Nifty Futures in Ahmedabad were trading 0.88% lower at 24,339 points on Thursday, weakened by the dynamic global sentiment in West Asia and the market.

As of 9:36 am, the NIFTY50 index was trading 0.17% higher at 24,371.20 points, while the BSE SENSEX was trading 0.08% higher at 78,024.61 points on Thursday’s market.

Factors driving stock markets today

The stock markets opened higher on May 7 as investors were focusing on the lower oil prices, expectations of a near-term end to the US-Iran conflict in West Asia, and the lower US dollar rate.

However, as the Gifty Nifty indicated, the indices temporarily slid into the red zone post-opening as the benchmark indices were experiencing heightened volatility. The Indian stock markets were also witnessing support from the positive cues in the Asian markets.

Global Brent crude oil prices were trading steady at $101.93 per barrel (bbl) levels as of 9:40 am (IST), compared to its $101.27 per bbl at the previous commodity market close levels, according to Investing.com data.

NSE data showed that the foreign investors continued their selling streak this week, as the FIIs sold ₹5,834.90 crore worth of assets from the capital markets segment in a single day on Wednesday, May 6.

As foreign investors were selling, the domestic buyers remained as the support for the Indian stock market, purchasing ₹6,836.87 crore worth of assets on Wednesday, fuelling slight gains at the closing price levels.

Latest media reports suggest that Iran is expected to respond to its mediators about the US proposal of a peace deal to end the conflict in West Asia on Thursday.

Top gainers & losers today

Bajaj Auto up 2.9%, Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) up 2.2%, Eicher Motors up 2%, Grasim Industries upo 1.7%, and Tata Steel up 1.4% were among the top gainers on the NIFTY50 benchmark index on Thursday’s early market session.

While other stocks, such as Adani Ports were down 1.2%, Tata Consumers down 1.2%, Hindustan Unilever down 0.9%, TCS down 0.9%, and Sun Pharma down 0.8% were among the top laggards on May 7.

US & Asian markets today

Overall across the board, the Asian stock markets were trading higher on Thursday as investors reacted positively to the oil prices trading lower around $101 per bbl levels on peace deal hopes.

The Asia Dow index was up 2.15% to 6,346 points; Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 5.5% to 62,826 points; Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was up 1.56% to 26,623 points, while the Shanghai was up 0.25% to 4,107 points on Thursday’s market session.

The FTSE Straits Times Index in Singapore was up 0.23% to 4,938 points during Thursday’s market session. The positive move in Asia comes after the US markets ended strongly on Wednesday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 1.24% higher at 49,910.59 points, the S&P 500 closed 1.46% higher at 7,365.12 points, and the Nasdaq Composite closed 2.02% higher at 25,838.94 points after Wednesday’s market session.