Opening Bell: Nifty opens near 17,300, Sensex gains 200 points; metal, realty stocks gain

The Indian markets opened positive in line with SGX Nifty trends amid geopolitical concerns and mixed global cues. SGX Nifty Futures was trading nearly 60 points higher on the Singaporean exchange in the early trade on Friday.  

The broader Nifty50 opened near 17,300 and the Sensex started with gains of nearly 200 points to open at 17,289 and 57,801.72respectively.  

Nifty mid cap and small cap indices too rose more than 0.5% as India VIX traded near 24. FMCG and Consumer durable opened marginally lower as all other sectoral indices were seen trading positive in the opening trade. Realty, autos, metal and PSU Bank gained the most. 

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Bharti Airtel, State Bank of India, UPL, Shree Cement were among top gainers, while Tata Consumer, Maruti, Titan and Nestle India were top laggards. 

Mohit Nigam, Head - PMS, Hem Securities on Friday said public sector OMCs are expected to make hike in diesel and petrol prices which will be effective from today.  

"This can further impact the corporate earnings as companies are already facing the pressure of rising input cost. We advise investors to remain selective while picking stocks as nifty can face tough resistance around 17350, "said Nigam. 

On the Technical front, the key resistance level for Nifty50 is 17,300 followed by 17,400 and on the downside 17,100 and 17,000 will act as strong support, said the expert. "The key resistance level for bank nifty is 35,850 followed by 36,200 and on the downside 35,300 and 35,000 will act as strong support," he added. 

The 17000-17500 range for Nifty is likely to hold for the near term with a possible breakout above the upper band coming early in April triggered by positive news from the earnings season, said V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services. The bullish undertone of the market is evident from the fact that despite lot of unfavorable developments, Nifty is up by 2.5% in March so far and India is outperforming most of the markets, he said.  

"A hawkish Fed, spiking crude and uncertainties associated with the war haven't diminished the enthusiasm of the bulls. The trend of preference for value over growth is evident in the strong performance of stocks like RIL and ITC and the weak performance of stocks like Britannia and HUL. This trend is likely to continue," he added. 

In the preopen, the Sensex was trading over 200 points higher as 26 shares advanced, 3 declined and one remained unchanged on the 30-share index.  

"Continuing to consolidate in a small range, Nifty closed lower at 17,222 on Thursday, while VIX ended at ~24-level. Price-wise, the Index faces resistance at 17,500-level and a quick follow-through move above the Monday’s high (17,353) is imperative. The Index continues to see support at 17,100-17,000 zone, while only a sustained move above 17,500-level will provide much-needed breather," said Viraj Vyas, Technical and Derivatives analyst at Ashika Broking.   

The time pressure on Index could intensify if it is unable to move past the resistance zone in coming sessions, said Viraj. 

"Nifty Bank ended lower at 35,527, as pressure continues to mount. From near-term perspective, violation of 36,000-level is a concern and breaking below 35,000-level will invite fresh bearish momentum. VIX continues to trade precariously at ~24-25-level and a cool-off below 20-level would signal a smoother recovery rally. However, time-wise, it is over-extending its stay below the resistance and continuing to do so will only add weakness," he added.  

Anand James, Chief Market Strategist at Geojit Financial Services, said Thursday’s bear run was short lived, and the subsequent show of strength by the bulls would be put on test today at 17350, a push above which would be required to rekindle hopes of a breach of17760. "It is still a low probability scenario. Meanwhile, inability to close above 17260 will keep alive the 16700 move," he added.

Earlier, Asian market was trading mixed as Japanese Nikkei 225 gained 0.70%, Hang Seng Index at the Hong Kong Exchange declined 0.20% and Shanghai composite was trading flat with positive bias in the early trade on Friday.  

The US stocks rose lifted by technology companies after a sharp fall in the previous session, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite up 269.24 points, or nearly 2%, to 14,191.84 on Thursday 
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 349.44 points, or about 1%, to 34,707.94 and the S&P 500 gained 63.92 points, or 1.43%, to 4,520.16.  

Disclaimer: The views/suggestions/advice expressed here in this article are solely by investment experts. Zee Business suggests its readers to consult with their investment advisers before making any financial decision.