Stock market gains in early trade, Nifty holds at 25,000 amid mixed global cues

Mumbai, Aug 21 (IANS) The Indian benchmark indices inched up marginally in the morning trade on Thursday amid mixed global cues.

Sensex climbed by 89 points or 0.11 per cent to 81,947. Nifty edged higher by 14 points or 0.06 per cent to 25,064 points.

Broader markets started the day mixed, as the Nifty midcap 100 index slipped slightly by 0.10 percent and while Nifty smallcap index 100 rose by 0.22 per cent.

The Nifty IT index fell by 0.61 per cent, the Nifty FMCG index slipped by 0.42 per cent, while the Nifty Realty index advanced by 0.79 per cent. Most of the other indices showed moderate losses and minor gains.

"Yesterday’s upswings fizzled off on approach to 25,096 level, the first upside objective lined up for yesterday. As Nifty is closer to the upper Bollinger Band, a consolidation can be expected," said Anand James, Chief Market Strategist, Geojit Investments Limited.

"A collapse is less likely, but dips to 25,000–24,977 zones or lower may be expected before another upswing is attempted," he added.

In the Nifty pack, SBI Life Insurance led the gainers with 1.20 per cent surge. Bajaj Finserv, Trent and Tata Motors were the other major gainers. Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL), Tata Consumer Products, JSW Steel and Asian Paints were major losers.

"A strong bullish candlestick on the daily chart signals renewed strength and momentum. The index is trading comfortably above all key moving averages, confirming a firm underlying trend," said Amruta Shinde from Choice Equity Broking.

"Immediate support lies at 25,000 and 24,800, while resistance is placed at 25,100 and 25,200," Shinde added.

While Wall Street stocks saw declines led by tech stocks, Asia-Pacific markets mostly saw gains.

In the US markets, the Dow Jones was up by 0.04 per cent, while the NASDAQ declined by 0.67 per cent and the S&P 500 fell by 0.24 per cent.

In Asia, China's Shanghai index and Shenzhen index inched up by 0.30 per cent and 0.38 per cent, respectively. Japan's Nikkei dropped by 0.58 per cent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index slipped by 0.13 per cent, and South Korea's KOSPI advanced by 1.11 per cent.

On Wednesday, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) turned net sellers for second consecutive day, offloading Indian equities worth Rs 1,100 crore. Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) sustained their support with net purchases of Rs 1,806 crore.

"Investors have to be vigilant about valuations in this market," said analysts.

--IANS

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