NIFTY50 trades above 24,950, SENSEX jumps 500 points; TCS, Tech Mahindra, Wipro take the lead

Indian stock markets opened higher on Monday, with both the NIFTY50 and SENSEX indices trading in positive territory. The broader market also showed strength. However, volatility rose as the India VIX index increased by 1.8% to around the 13.8 mark.

Indian markets opened on a buoyant note courtesy of the U.S. Fed chair signalling an imminent rate cut. Powell, during its crucial speech at the Jackson Hole Economic Symposium, said, "The time has come for policy to adjust". Experts are anticipating that the U.S. Fed will start reducing its policy rate from September onwards. Equity markets stand to benefit from the rate cuts as lower interest rates will spurt spending and give a boost to the economy.

FII and DII Activity

On Friday, August 23, 2024, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought shares worth ₹1,944.48 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought shares worth ₹2,896.02 crore.

Market Indices

At 9:25 AM, the Sensex and Nifty 50 are both trading up today, with the SENSEX gaining 0.49% to above 81,400 level and the NIFTY50 rising 0.44% above the 24,900 level. The Nifty Bank index is also up, gaining 0.50% to trade near the 51,200 level.

Broader Indices

Looking at the broader indices, the Nifty Midcap 100 index was trading up by 0.39% above the 58,800 level, while the Nifty Smallcap was also trading up by 0.65%, near the 19,200 level. Market breadth remains strong as advancing stocks outnumber the declining stocks.

Sectoral Performance

Within the sectoral landscape, NIFTY IT (+1.33 % %), NIFTY Metal (+0.70%), and NIFTY Media (+0.55%) were the top-performing sectors. On the other hand, NIFTY Pharma (-0.28%) and NIFTY FMCG (-0.21%) were trading in the red.

Top Gainers and Losers

In the NIFTY50 space, ONGC (+1.60%), Tech Mahindra (+1.42%), and Wipro (+1.38%) were among the top gainers. On the other hand, Apollo Hospital (-1.95%), HDFC Life (-0.94%), and BPCL (-0.58%) were among the top losers.

U.S. Markets

U.S. markets rose on Friday as predictions that the US Federal Reserve will lower its main policy rate in September were reinforced by Jerome Powell's dovish comments.

The yield on the U.S. 2-year bond fell 86 basis points to 3.88%, while the yield on the U.S. 10-year Treasury fell 45 basis points to 3.78%.

Commodities

On Monday, oil prices continued to rise due to concerns that the violence in Gaza may spread to other parts of the Middle East, potentially disrupting regional oil supplies. Additionally, the prognosis for the global economy and fuel consumption was improved by the impending interest rate reduction by the United States.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures dropped $0.50, or 0.67%, reaching $75.33 per barrel.

Stocks in F&O Ban

Stocks that are banned for trading in the F&O segment on August 26, 2024, are Aarti Industries, Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail, Balrampur Chini, Birlasoft, Chambal Fertilizers, GNFC, Granules India, Hindustan Copper, IEX, India Cements, National Aluminium, RBL Bank, and Sun TV.