
Sensex, Nifty open higher as IT stocks rally amid Israel-Iran conflict
Benchmark stock market indices rose on Monday, starting the week on a positive note, despite the geopolitical tensions globally. IT sector stocks gained in early trade, pusing the markets up.The S&P BSE Sensex was up by 257.49 points to 81,376.09, while the NSE Nifty50 gained 83.20 points to 24,803.55 as of 9:29 am.Dr. VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments Limited, said that the uncertainty stemming from the Israel-Iran conflict has created a risk-off in global markets.advertisement
"The safe haven buying is keeping gold firm but dollar continues to be weak. Interestingly there is no panic in equity markets. Markets will be severely impacted only if Iran closes the Strait of Hormuz triggering a huge spike in crude. This appears to be a low probability event now," he added.The top gainers on the Sensex were led by Power Grid Corporation, which surged 1.17%, followed by UltraTech Cement with a gain of 1.07%. Bharti Airtel climbed 0.89%, while HCL Technologies rose 0.86% and LT added 0.83% to open higher.On the losing side, Tata Motors was the worst performer, declining 3.15%, followed by Adani Ports which fell 0.69%. Axis Bank dropped 0.59%, Kotak Mahindra Bank lost 0.31%, and State Bank of India declined 0.28% during the early trading session.advertisementThe broader market indices declined today. Nifty Midcap 100 fell 0.38%, while Nifty Smallcap dropped 0.79%. India VIX, the volatility index, declined by 2.80%.Among the sectoral indices, several posted gains during the early trading session. Nifty IT led the gainers with a rise of 0.54%, followed by Nifty Oil & Gas at 0.16%, Nifty Financial Services at 0.04%, and Nifty FMCG at 0.03%.Several indices opened in negative territory. Nifty PSU Bank declined by 0.94%, Nifty Media fell 0.84%, Nifty Auto dropped 0.67%, Nifty Metal lost 0.46%, Nifty Realty declined 0.37%, Nifty Private Bank fell 0.21%, Nifty Consumer Durables dropped 0.12%, Nifty Pharma declined 0.10%, and Nifty Healthcare closed marginally lower by 0.02%."Past experience tells us that times of uncertainty and risk-off are buying opportunities for long-term investors. The difference this time is that the risk-off has not triggered big selling in equities making their valuations attractive. The market scenario characterised by sustained retail buying and fund flows into mutual funds will ensure valuations remaining high for an extended period of time. Therefore, long-term investors can use this risk-off scenario to buy relatively attractively valued stocks like financials," said Vijayakumar.Must Watch
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