Stock market today: Indian equity benchmarks, Nifty50 and BSE Sensex, opened flat in trade on Wednesday as Middle East tensions and US-Iran war continued to add uncertainty to global markets. While Nifty50 was above 24,250, BSE Sensex was near 78,300. At 9:18 AM, Nifty50 was trading at 24,284.90, up 23 points to 0.096%. BSE Sensex was at 78,281.72, up 76 points or 0.097%.Stock market experts expect the benchmarks to move within a consolidation phase in the near term. Dr. VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments Limited says, “There are some important market trends that investors should analyse and try to understand now. One, the FII vs DII game is back to the last one-year pattern of sustained selling by FIIs being more than matched by sustained buying by DIIs. Given the continuing indifference of FIIs towards India and the sustaining inflows into Indian equity mutual funds, this game is likely to continue in the near-term. Two, despite the weakness in the market some segments like pharmaceuticals and domestic consumption themes like telecom, automobiles and defence are exhibiting resilience. Sustained FII selling has made large banking stocks, which constitute the largest segment of FII’s AUM, attractive. These stocks have the potential to reward investors who can buy and hold them for at least two years. Here patience is the key. The decline in Brent crude to below $88 will improve the risk-on sentiment in the market.”Asian equities opened about 0.8 per cent higher and optimism around the artificial intelligence sector also improved sentiment after Oracle Corp. shares surged 8 per cent in after-hours trading following stronger-than-expected revenue results.In the United States, stocks pared early gains on Tuesday, with the S&P 500 slipping into negative territory. Investors weighed diminishing expectations of a quicker end to the US-Israeli war on Iran against renewed military threats and continuing concerns about potential economic stagflation.Commodity markets showed mixed movements. Gold prices advanced on Wednesday as declining oil prices eased concerns over inflation. Investors are also awaiting a series of US economic indicators due later this week for signals on the Federal Reserve’s policy outlook.Oil prices fluctuated on Wednesday after the Wall Street Journal reported that the International Energy Agency had proposed the largest release of oil reserves in its history to counter supply disruptions arising from the war involving Iran.Foreign portfolio investors were net sellers of equities worth Rs 4,673 crore on Tuesday. Domestic institutional investors, on the other hand, purchased shares worth Rs 6,333 crore.(Disclaimer: Recommendations and views on the stock market, other asset classes or personal finance management tips given by experts are their own. These opinions do not represent the views of The Times of India)
