Sensex advances nearly 115 points, Nifty up nearly 35 points as crude oil prices ease

The domestic benchmark equity indices on Monday were trading flat in the positive territory during early trade amid slight easing in global crude oil prices due to persistent geopolitical uncertainties between US and Iran and Russia and UkraineMarket movementThe 30share BSE Sensex climbed 11473 points or 015 per cent at 7765556 in the initial trade The 50share NSE Nifty was up 3425 points or 014 per cent at 2430385 in the early tradeOn Friday the Sensex gained just 311 points to end at 7754083 while the Nifty advanced 2015 points or 008 per cent at 24252During last week the Sensex declined 46842 points or 060 per cent while the Nifty slipped 114 points or 047 per cent due to the elevated crude oil pricesAmong the Sensex constituents IT stocks were the major gainers in the early trade with Infosys HCL Tech Tata Consultancy Services TCS and Tech Mahindra all trading higher Tata Steel and HDFC bank were also among the winners during the initial trade Asian Paints Titan Power Grid Bharat Electronics Adani Ports were among the laggardsInvestors should look beyond the Nifty to the broader market where there is hectic activity happening Companies reporting good results and good forward guidance are being bought by investors retail as well as institutions even at high valuations Since there is no significant floating stocks in most of these stocks in the broader market the rally is sharp Segments like contract development and manufacturing organization CDMO healthcare precision engineering and power infrastructure are attracting investors However investors should not rush in to buy at any prices Valuation is important V K Vijayakumar Chief Investment Strategist Geojit Investments advisedGlobal cuesAccording to news agency PTI Brent crude the global oil benchmark traded 132 per cent lower at USD 9314 per barrel while Foreign Institutional Investors FII offloaded equities worth Rs 54271 crore on a net basis on FridayIn the nearterm the market is likely to move within the Nifty range of 2420024600 There are fundamental triggers far a rally coming particularly from the resilient economy and improving earnings growth But a breakout beyond 24600 is unlikely since there are headwinds like elevated crude oil prices Brent around USD 93 and escalating geopolitical tensions associated with West Asian crisis and the RussiaUkraine war In this context any rally will be met with increased selling at higher levels Vijayakumar saidIn Asian markets South Koreas Kospi Japans Nikkei 225 Shanghais SSE Composite index and Hong Kongs Hang Seng index were trading lowerAsian markets opened on a softer note with the Nikkei down 02 per cent and the Kospi declining 15 per cent The key positive for Indian equities is the recent moderation in crude prices Brent crude has eased around 3 per cent to USD 914 a barrel retreating from its twoweek run towards USD 95 offering some relief to an oilimporting economy like India Gold remains elevated near USD 4680 reflecting persistent fiscal and geopolitical concerns Rajesh Palviya Head of Research Axis Direct saidAny renewed spike in crude oil prices remains the key risk to the market outlook he addedWith inputs from PTI