(Photo : BT Creative)
The Indian stock market ended in red.

• The Indian stock market opened lower with Nestle and Infosys leading the losses.
• Despite the initial dip, the overall market trend remained positive with more stocks trading in the green.
• Market experts suggest sustained domestic flows have been supporting the market, absorbing selling by Foreign Institutional Investors.
• Going forward, experts expect Nifty to consolidate around the 25,000 levels, with IT, banking, and certain auto sectors expected to perform well in Q2 earnings.

The Indian stock market began trading on a lower note on Wednesday, with Nestle and Infosys among the top losers in the morning trade. The BSE Sensex opened at 81,611.07, slipping 209.05 points or 0.26% in early trade. Concurrently, the NSE Nifty started trading at 24,999.45, after losing 57.90 points or 0.23%. Despite the initial dip, the market trend remained positive. On the National Stock Exchange (NSE), 687 stocks were trading in the green, while 555 were trading in the red. Similarly, on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), 61 stocks were in the green and 52 were in the red.

Sectoral Indices and Market Drivers

The Nifty Bank was at 51,878.45 after slipping 27.55 points or 0.05 per cent. The Nifty Midcap index was trading at 59, 635.05 level after gaining 41.80 points or 0.07 per cent. At the same time, the Nifty 100 index was at 26,120.20 after slipping 28.90 points or 0.11 per cent. Asian Paints, HDFC Bank, Bajaj Finserv and Power Grid were the top gainers in the Sensex pack. Nestle and Infosys were the top losers.

On the NSE, except for the Nifty Pharma, Nifty Realty, and Nifty Consumer Durables indices, all other sectoral indices opened in the negative. Market experts suggest that the main driver of the bull run has been the sustained domestic flows into the market, which have absorbed all the selling by Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs). They anticipate that these domestic flows will continue to provide support, but high valuations may limit the upside potential.

Market Outlook and Historical Trends

The experts also suggest that Nifty is likely to consolidate around the 25,000 levels. They anticipate weak Q2 earnings, except for the IT, banking, and certain pockets of the auto sector. The stock markets in Tokyo, Bangkok and Seoul were trading in the red. The markets of Shanghai, Hong Kong and Jakarta were trading in the green. The US stock market closed in the red on the previous trading day.

The Indian stock market has seen similar trends in the past. For instance, in the run-up to the 2019 general elections, the market witnessed significant volatility, with the BSE Sensex swinging between gains and losses. However, sustained domestic flows helped absorb the selling pressure from FIIs, similar to the current scenario. The market also consolidated around key levels, as it is expected to do now around the 25,000 mark.