FIRST TRADE: Sensex, Nifty open marginally higher; Hero MotoCorp falls over 2%

Indian equities mirroring positive sentiment globally after the softer-than-expected US inflation print started trade on a positive note. At the start, Sensex traded marginally higher by 0.08 per cent or 65.12 points at 79,021.15, while the Nifty traded higher by 0.03 per cent or 7.25 points at 24,146.25. 

Dr. V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services said, "The PPI inflation numbers from the US indicate softening of inflation,  and a confirmation of this declining trend is likely from the CPI numbers coming today. The US market moved up yesterday in anticipation of this and a rate cut by the Fed in September. If the rate cut is by 50bp, the US market will remain resilient lending support to global markets."

This is the likely scenario. On the other hand, if the Fed disappoints with no rate cut, the market will see sell off and this will have repercussions globally, he added.

From the Nifty pack, stocks like Hindalo, M&M, Coal India, HCL Technologies and Tata Motors emerged as the top gainers, while Hero MotoCorp, Divi's Laboratories, UltraTech Cement, ICICI Bank and HDFC Life topped the losers list.

Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities said, after yesterday's Nifty plunge the market attention is on softened US PPI inflation data, set against a backdrop of bullish global cues likely to lift Nifty at the open. Eyes are also on the upcoming July US CPI report due Wednesday evening. Speculation grows amidst expectations of a potential 50-basis points US interest-rate cut in September.

Technically, Nifty's strength hinges on breaching the 24,359 mark, he added.

Meanwhile, Asian markets continued to trade mixed with the Hang Seng down 0.33 per cent, while the Japan's Nikkei and Straits Times traded with gains up to 0.34 per cent.