Stock market opening: Nifty opens above 16,000, Sensex gains over 350 points; IT, Realty, Pharma gain

The Indian markets opened on a positive note on Wednesday, a day ahead of the results of state assembly polls, including UP election result 2022. Snapping four days losing streak, Indian market has ended nearly 1% higher on Tuesday.  

The broader Nifty50 opened above 16,000, while the Sensex added more than 350 points in the opening trade. The benchmarks opened at 16,080.75 and 53,793.99 on Wednesday.  

The 12-share Bank Nifty gained marginally to trade near 33,200.  

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Titan, Infosys, IndusInd Bank, Adani Ports, BPCL, Dr Reddy's, Sun Pharma and Tech Mahindra were top gainers, while Asian paints, Eicher Motors, Kotak Bank, ICICI Bank, Cipla, Tata Steel, HDFC Bank and Bharti Airtel dragged the indices the most on Wednesday. 

In the pre-open, the Sensex gained more than 350 points to 53,793.99 as all stocks turned green on the 30-share Sensex. 

SGX Nifty Futures declined by 0.19% or more than 30 points to 15,911 around 9 am on the Singaporean exchange, hinting at negative to flat opening for the Indian market.  

V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services, says negative sentiments in global stock markets persist and as long as the war lingers and crude remains at high levels, a sustained rally is unlikely.

"High crude oil will impact India's GDP growth and corporate earnings growth for FY 23. FY 23 Nifty EPS estimate of 870 at the beginning of this year will be missed. Higher inflation will be another negative. Market has responded to the emerging scenario with a Nifty correction of above 14%. But IT, metals, energy and pharma stocks have done well since they stand to benefit from the price and demand trends. For investors who are prepared to take another 5% hit in prices in the short run, quality financials present a buying opportunity," he added. 

Likhita Chepa, Senior Research Analyst, Capitalvia Global Research Ltd says strength in financial and information technology companies helped Indian markets make a comeback on Tuesday.

"Today, markets opened slightly higher, with advances in most other Asian markets, however, oil prices have continued to rise as a result of the United States' ban on Russian oil imports in response to Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. Investors will certainly pay attention to exit polls before the state election results, which are only a day away," she said. 

Traders may be concerned after Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman expressed concern about rising crude prices as a result of the Ukraine conflict and said the central government is searching for alternate sources, she said. "Metal stocks will be in the spotlight, with a private report claiming that steel prices will continue to rise due to strong demand and the supply chain being disrupted by the Ukraine-Russia conflict. The US markets ended lower on Tuesday as President Joe Biden officially announced a U.S. ban on Russian imports of oil and energy, she added. 

Earlier, Asian peers were off to a good start on Wednesday as all major Asian indices were trading in the green in early trade today. Japanese Nikkei 225 was trading higher by more than 1%, Hang Seng Index at the Hong Kong Exchange was up 0.40% and Chinese Shanghai Composite was up 0.60% around 7.40 am on Wednesday.  

On Tuesday, the US markets were seen closing in the red as Dow Jones declined 0.56%, Nasdaq Composite ended with loss of 0.28% and S&P500 closed 0.72% lower amid rising geopolitical tensions. 

(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.)