The Indian equity markets saw moderate gains in early trade on Thursday, following the positive trend in Asian markets despite escalating tensions in the Middle East. By 9:30 am, the Sensex rose by 246 points, or 0.31%, reaching 79,362, while the Nifty increased by 84 points, or 0.35%, to 24,565. Both broad-cap indices, the Nifty Midcap 100 and the Nifty Smallcap 100, also performed well, with gains of 1.02% and 1.11% respectively.
All sectoral indices, except for FMCG and IT which saw marginal declines of 0.13% and 0.32% respectively, traded in the green. Notably, Nifty metal and oil and gas sectors led the gains, rising by 1.23% and 1.43% respectively. In the previous session, the Indian benchmark indices closed in the red due to heightened tensions in the Middle East affecting investor sentiment.
The WTI crude oil April Futures surged by 3.36% intraday, marking a three-day increase, as concerns over potential disruptions in oil exports from Iraq and Kuwait due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz persisted. The rupee initially dropped by 69 paise against the US dollar to 92.18 but later recovered to 91.66, driven by a sharp spike in crude oil prices.
The Nifty faces immediate resistance between 24,600 and 24,650, with support levels at 24,300–24,350. For Bank Nifty, resistance is anticipated in the 59,000–59,100 range, while the 58,400–58,500 zone is crucial as a support level, as per market analysts. In Asian markets, various indices showed positive movements, with gains in China’s Shanghai index (0.84%), Shenzhen (1.67%), Japan’s Nikkei (1.84%), Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index (1.13%), and South Korea’s Kospi (0.69%).
The US markets closed higher, with Nasdaq rising by 1.29%, S&P 500 by 0.78%, and Dow Jones by 0.49%. On March 4, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net sellers of equities worth Rs 8,752 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) net bought equities worth Rs 12,068 crore.
