Stock markets climb in early trade led by foreign fund inflows, lower crude oil prices

Indian stock markets opened higher on Thursday, with Sensex gaining 166 points and Nifty rising 55 points. Sustained foreign institutional investor inflows, falling crude oil prices, strong corporate earnings and positive US market performance supported the ongoing market rally

Mumbai: Benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty rallied in early trading session on Thursday amid sustained foreign fund inflows and lower crude oil prices.

The 30-share BSE Sensex advanced 166.44 points to 82,013.58 in early trade. The 50-share NSE Nifty was up 55.65 points at 25,316.55.

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In the 30 Sensex firms, Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, ITC, Eternal, State Bank of India and ICICI Bank were among the major winners.

Mahindra & Mahindra, Sun Pharma, UltraTech Cement and Hindustan Unilever were among the laggards.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 12,563.33 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, traded 1.12 per cent lower at USD 91.75 per barrel.

The Nifty rally of 9.55 per cent in so far in November is being led primarily by aggressive buying by the FIIs. FIIs have already invested Rs 65,735 crore in Indian equities so far in November, said V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments Ltd.

“This trend is likely to continue and has the potential to reach an all-time high number. Impressive earnings growth as evidenced by the good Q2 results and the macro relief from lower crude prices (Brent around USD 92) will support the rally,” Vijayakumar said.

In Asian markets, South Korea’s Kospi, Japan’s Nikkei 225 index and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index were trading lower, while Shanghai’s SSE Composite index quoted higher.

The US equity markets ended higher on Wednesday, with the Nasdaq Composite rallying 1.60 per cent, S&P 500 climbing 1.31 per cent and Dow Jones Industrial Average rising 0.49 per cent.

On Wednesday, the Sensex rallied 772.75 points, or 0.95 per cent, to settle at 81,879.40, a level not seen since February 26. The Nifty closed 210.40 points, or 0.84 per cent, higher at 25,255.05, the highest in nearly nine months.