Mumbai, October 29: Indian equity markets opened with mild gains on Thursday, snapping the early-week slide, as buying in information technology and pharma stocks outweighed pressure from elevated crude oil prices and a hawkish pause by the US Federal Reserve. As of 9:25 am, the Sensex was up 168 points, or 0.23 per cent, at 73,414, and the Nifty 50 was up 45 points, or 0.20 per cent, at 22,744, IANS reported. ANI, reporting exchange data, said the Sensex had opened at 73,268.47 and the Nifty at 22,690.65 before both benchmarks moved into positive territory.

Source: IANS — Nifty, Sensex post early mild gains despite mixed global cues

73,414Sensex at 9:25 am, up 168 points (0.23%)
22,744Nifty 50 at 9:25 am, up 45 points (0.20%)
+0.80%Nifty IT, the morning's leading sector
$114.50Brent crude per barrel, still elevated

IT leads, private banks and media lag

Broader markets moved in line with the benchmarks, with the Nifty Midcap 100 up 0.25 per cent and the Nifty Smallcap 100 up 0.13 per cent. Among sectoral indices, Nifty IT gained 0.80 per cent and pharma 0.30 per cent, while Nifty Private Bank and Nifty Media were among the losers, down 0.18 per cent and 0.16 per cent respectively, IANS reported. ANI's exchange wrap named Adani Ports, Power Grid, TCS, Titan, Coal India, Reliance Industries, HCL Tech, Infosys, NTPC and Bharti Airtel among the top gainers, while Trent, Maruti, Bajaj Finance, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and ONGC dragged.

Source: ANI via ApnaMA TV — Sensex gains over 150 points, Nifty above 22,730

The cautious tone came from abroad. The US Federal Reserve kept its policy rate unchanged on Wednesday, but two members voted for an increase, and markets raised expectations of another hike in December; the US 10-year Treasury yield moved to around 5.02 per cent, IANS reported. Brent crude stayed near $114.50 a barrel amid geopolitical uncertainty — a direct cost pressure for India, one of the world's largest oil importers, through its import bill, inflation and the rupee.

Foreign portfolio investors were net buyers of Indian equities for a second straight session on Wednesday, purchasing shares worth Rs 872 crore, according to provisional exchange data reported by HDFC Sky — but they have still pulled out $3.74 billion so far in October. Domestic benchmarks have now declined in six of the past seven sessions; on Wednesday the Sensex closed 352.64 points lower at 73,246.03 and the Nifty slipped 50.90 points to 22,698.85.

Source: HDFC Sky — India set for split start as Fed holds, Asia mixed, crude high

Analysts quoted by IANS said the opening gains may remain selective unless the Nifty decisively crosses 22,800, with immediate support placed at 22,600–22,650 and resistance at 22,850–22,900, as the Fed's message, elevated crude and high US bond yields continue to restrict broader risk-taking.