Stock Market Updates: Sensex Opens 250 Points, Nifty 50 Above 16,100; key points

Asian Paints, L&T, HUL, SBI, Power Grid, NTPC, Bajaj Finance, TCS and Infosys gained up to 1.7 per cent in the Sensex. BPCL, Grasim, Britannia and Tata Motors were additional Nifty winners.

On the other hand, HCL Tech was the loser of the major index with a fall of 2 per cent after reporting a gradual decline in net profit in the first quarter of FY23. ONGC, Tech M, Reliance, Dr Reddy’s, Titan and HDFC Bank were the other large-cap losers.

Broader markets also opened in the green. BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices rose up to 0.6 per cent.

Nifty PSB index ended in regional gains with gains of over 1 per cent. Nifty FMCG, Realty were other notable winners.

Among other stocks, CARE Ratings rose 8 per cent after the company said it would consider plans for a share buyback on July 20.

Dr VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services, said: “The major positive development from India’s economic and market perspective is Brent crude falling below $100 for the first time since March 22. The bulls are likely to latch onto this. On the good news. But it will be disappointing for FIIs to sell again.

“Market direction will be determined by US market movements today, which will, in turn, be determined by CPI inflation data for June released today. June CPI inflation is expected to reach 8.8 per cent year-on-year. If the actual numbers and signals are lower than expected, the market will stage a rally. Conversely, if actuals are higher than expected, further selling could be affected in markets globally. So, keep an eye on US inflation data. A significant short-term trend in the market is weakness in IT and strength in banking. IT is vulnerable due to margin pressures in the industry and fears of a possible US slowdown. Banking is strong due to strong fundamentals of banking segment and impressive credit growth in the economy,” he said.