Stock Market: Sensex, Nifty open higher after two-day fall; Reliance AGM in focus

Domestic equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty snapped their two-day losing streak and opened higher on Friday, with investors eyeing the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of Reliance Industries, the country’s most valued company by market capitalisation. However, overall sentiment remained cautious amid lingering concerns over US tariffs.

At 9:16 am, the BSE Sensex was up 151.53 points, or 0.19 per cent, at 80,232.10, after gaining as much as 197 points in early trade. The NSE Nifty50 rose 35.40 points, or 0.14 per cent, to 24,536.30, having hit a day’s high of 24,564.35.

Among Sensex stocks, Hindustan Unilever led gainers, rising 1.53 per cent to Rs 2,692.90.  ITC shares climbed 1.47 per cent. Other gainers included Asian Paints (up 1.18 per cent), Kotak Mahindra Bank (up 1.11 per cent) and UltraTech Cement (up 1 per cent).

Reliance Industries shares gained 0.34 per cent to Rs 1,392.35 in Friday’s trade, ahead of the conglomerate’s 48th annual general meeting (AGM) scheduled for today, August 29. The AGM, closely watched by its 44 lakh shareholders, is expected to draw focus across its oil, telecom and retail businesses.

In global markets, the S&P 500 rose 0.32 per cent to close at 6,501.86, while the Nasdaq advanced 0.53 per cent to 21,705.16. The Dow Jones Industrial Average inched up 0.16 per cent to settle at 45,636.90.

Asian equities were mixed on Friday. At last check, Japan’s Nikkei 225 slipped 0.43 per cent to 42,642.97, while China’s Beijing Stock Exchange 50 Index advanced 3.14 per cent to 1,603.18.

On Thursday, the BSE Sensex was down 705.97 points, or 0.87 per cent, at 80,080.57, while the NSE Nifty50 fell 211.15 points, or 0.85 per cent, to settle at 24,500.90.

VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments Limited, said a significant takeaway from the market trend yesterday is that despite the big buying of Rs 6,920 crore by DIIs, overwhelming the FII selling of Rs 3,856 crore, Nifty drifted down by 211 points. 

“The reason for this important market trend is the increasing short build up by the FIIs. The negative sentiments in the market triggered by the 50 per cent Trump tariff and the high valuations in India has encouraged the FIIs to increase their short positions,” Vijayakumar said.

Vijayakumar said the September series historically has been known for big moves. A quick decision on the tariff policy can lead to reversal of sentiments and short covering. We don’t know whether this will happen. 

“The policy initiatives in India - the fiscal stimulus through the Budget, monetary stimulus through rate cuts and the coming GST rationalisation- should revive economic growth and corporate earnings in India in the coming quarters. That is when we will have a fundamentally supported rally in the market. Investors can utilise the dips in the market to buy fairly-valued stocks and wait patiently in anticipation of the rally," Vijayakumar added.