New Delhi, May 8: Indian stock indices opened marginally higher on Monday after having closed in the red the last session. At the time of writing this report, benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty were 0.5 per cent higher each.
Last week, Indian stock indices managed to end with gains on a cumulative basis. Benchmark Sensex and Nifty indices accumulated 0.8-1.0 per cent gains. Friday's trading session, however, closed sharply lower, partly due to profit booking after the recent consistent bull run and a sharp decline in banking stocks over the prevailing strains in the US regional banks. The collapse of a few regional banks in the US, which started with Silicon Valley Bank, has sent ripples across the global banking industry and posed fears of a contagion effect across economies. Earlier in the week, firm GST collections, weakness in the US dollar, and continued foreign fund inflows supported Indian stocks.
"FIIs (foreign institutional investors) have been continuous buyers in India during the last seven trading sessions, cumulatively buying equity worth Rs 11700 crores. Rupee appreciation is aiding FII buying," said V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services.
Going ahead, the release of US and Indian inflation data for April will be keenly watched by the market participants to get a direction.
