FIRST TRADE: Nifty tops 18,150 at open, Sensex up 250 pts; Britannia hits record high

The benchmark indices, S&P BSE Sensex and NSE's Nifty opened on a positive note on May 8, 2023. In the opening deals, the NSE's Nifty traded around half a per cent higher at 18,153.90, while the 30-share index of BSE quoted 330 points or 0.54 per cent higher at 61,384.24. FMCG stocks were on fire in trade on the back of encouraging March quarter numbers. Britannia hit a record high of Rs 4,700.35 apiece on the BSE while Marico jumped 9 per cent to hit a high of Rs 537.35. The stock hit a 52-week high of Rs 554.05 on September 29, 2023.

"Support from global markets and sustained FII buying can revive positive market sentiments which were impacted by heavy delivery selling of Rs 4,500 crore in HDFC twins last Friday. It is important to note that the fundamentals of the HDFC twins are strong and the selling was triggered by fears of outflows after the merger due to the MSCI weighting update. Cues from the mother market US indicate that the fears from the regional banking crisis are receding. The April US jobs data, which came at a much better-than-expected 2,53,000 jobs reflect a strong economy which may even avoid a recession. FIIs have been continuous buyers in India during the last seven trading sessions, cumulatively buying equity worth Rs 11,700 crores. Rupee appreciation is aiding FII buying," V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services.

SECTOR WATCH

The Nifty Bank index was up 1.26 per cent to 43,200.75 levels and barring Bank of Baroda, all the constituents traded in the green. Nifty FMCG hit a high of 48,648.10 in the early deals.

Among other buzzing stocks, MRF briefly touched Rs 1,00,000 apiece in today's trade. At the time of writing this report, the stock traded at Rs 99,450.00, up nearly a per cent. Paytm was up over 3 per cent after the company's loss narrowed in the March quarter.