Markets Steady: Nifty, Sensex Open Flat Post Last Week's Gains

The Indian stock markets started the second week of December with a cautious tone, as both indices opened marginally lower on Monday.

The Nifty 50 index opened at 24,633.90 points, a drop of 43.90 points or 0.18 percent, while the BSE Sensex index started at 81,602.58 points, falling by 106.54 points or 0.13 percent.

Experts noted that markets have recovered around half of their losses from the October and November downturn; however, they will now remain in a consolidated phase before moving towards a rally.

Ajay Bagga, a specialist in Banking and Markets, told ANI that Indian markets have recovered more than 50 percent from their drop since September. He expects the markets to stabilize for a while before resuming their upward movement. Seasonal factors and capital inflows are favorable for market growth.

This week’s global events feature the US CPI report, which is expected to show a rate increase similar to last month. In general, the markets anticipate a 25 basis point rate cut by the US Federal Reserve on the 18th.

In the opening session on the NSE, sectoral indices displayed a mixed performance. While Nifty BANK, Nifty Financial, Nifty Metal, and Nifty Realty recorded gains, sectors like Nifty IT saw slight declines. Among the Nifty 50 stocks, 22 opened higher, while 28 experienced a decrease at the time of the report.

At the opening of the market, L&T, Bajaj Finance, SBI Life, HDFC Bank, and Shriram Finance were the top gainers in the Nifty 50, while Hindustan Unilever, Tata Consumer, and Britannia were the top losers. Last week, foreign investors made a strong return to the Indian equity markets, with a net purchase exceeding Rs 24,400 crore in the first week of December.

Data from the National Securities Depository Limited (NSDL) shows that Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) invested a total of Rs 24,453 crore in equities from December 2 to December 6. The largest single-day inflow occurred on Friday, December 6, when FPIs purchased equities worth Rs 9,489 crore, representing the highest investment of the week.

In other Asian markets, South Korea's KOSPI index continued its downward trend amid political uncertainty. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell by 0.33 percent, while Japan's Nikkei 225 index rose by 0.27 percent. The Taiwan Weighted index also saw a modest increase of 0.10 percent.