Markets muted at open; TCS top Sensex gainer, Mahindra CIE zooms post Q4 nos

The benchmark indices were muted in the opening deals on April 26. The S&P BSE Sensex was little changed at 60,100.08 levels while the NSE's Nifty quoted at 17,750, down 0.11 per cent.

On the Sensex pack, TCS (up nearly a per cent) was the top gainer, followed by M&M and IndusInd Bank. On the flip side, Tata Steel was the biggest laggard. 

Among individual stocks, Mahindra CIE Automotive jumped over 8 per cent after encouraging March quarter numbers. Other stocks that were trading with solid gains included GSPL, GSFC, Gujarat Alkalies and Chemicals, and Gujarat Mineral Development Corporation. 

Dr V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services, notes that there are three indicators from the market which are significant: One, the volatility index, India VIX is at 11.52, near three-year lows. Two, sustained FPI selling in the earlier months of this year has stopped and FIIs have turned buyers this month, though moderately. Three, India’s premium to MSCI World Index is down to 15 per cent, indicating the removal of froth in valuation. The takeaway from these three indicators is that there is no significant downside to the market in the near term. There are no triggers for a sharp-up move either. So the possible near-term trend is a range-bound movement, within which there can be sharp responses to Q4 results and management commentary.

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"Data on US inflation and GDP expected this week will have an impact on global markets and on India, too. The results of US tech majors have been good. If the US disinflation trend indicates a steady decline, that can be a positive trigger for equity markets globally," the analyst said further.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE MidCap index traded 0.16 per cent lower at 24,921.10 levels while the S&P BSE SmallCap index was up 0.14 per cent at 28,423.56.