(Photo : BT Creative)

• The Indian stock market opened flat on Tuesday, with a positive trend seen in the PSU bank sector.
• Market experts highlight the market's resilience and anticipate a CRR cut to boost bank profitability.
• Key players in the Sensex pack include Adani Ports, SBI, HDFC Bank, while Asian and US markets also traded in green.
• Despite global trends and domestic challenges, the Indian stock market shows resilience and a positive response to policy changes.

The Indian stock market opened almost flat on Tuesday, with buying seen in the PSU bank sector in early trade. The Sensex was trading at 80,349.11 after rising 101.03 points or 0.13 per cent, while the Nifty was trading at 24,302.85 after rising 26.80 points or 0.11 per cent. The market trend remained positive, with 1,864 stocks trading in green on the National Stock Exchange (NSE), while 421 stocks were in red.

Market experts have noted the underlying resilience of the market in its ability to bounce back. The focus is not on the GDP growth slowdown but on the likely policy response to this slowdown. The bounce back of banking stocks indicates that the market is expecting a CRR cut on Friday, which will boost the profitability of banks.

The Nifty Bank was up 337.30 points or 0.65 per cent at 52,446.30. The Nifty Midcap 100 index was trading at 57,353.65 after gaining 352.80 points or 0.62 per cent. The Nifty Smallcap 100 index was at 19,019.30 after gaining 174.25 points or 0.92 per cent.

Market Performance and Key Players

Akshay Chinchalkar, Head of Research at Axis Securities, said, "The Nifty rose for a second straight day, and is now at a point where a potential head-and-shoulders bottom may be confirmed. The level to watch out for is 24315 for the day, and any close above this hurdle will activate the pattern with a smaller upside objective near 24,800 followed by the larger target near 25,500."

In the Sensex pack, Adani Ports, SBI, HDFC Bank, JSW Steel, IndusInd Bank, Tata Steel and Bajaj Finance were the top gainers. While ITC, Bharti Airtel, Sun Pharma, M&M and Kotak Mahindra Bank were the top losers.

In Asian markets, the markets of Seoul, Japan, China, Hong Kong, Bangkok and Jakarta were trading in green. In US stock markets the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite ended 0.24 per cent and 0.97 per cent higher, respectively. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.29 per cent down on the previous trading day.

Foreign Institutional Investors and Domestic Institutional Investors

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold equities worth Rs 238 crore on December 2, while domestic institutional investors bought equities worth Rs 3,588 crore on the same day.

The Indian markets continued their gains in December, with both indices opening higher on Tuesday. The Nifty 50 index opened at 24,367.50 points, gaining 91.45 points or 0.38 per cent, while the BSE Sensex opened at 80,529.20 points, up by 281.12 points or 0.35 per cent.

Experts noted that Indian stock markets have ignored the GDP numbers and, being in an oversold territory, may rise further and witness a rally leading up to the budget in February.

Ajay Bagga, a banking and market expert, stated:"The Indian markets shrugged off the GDP number and moved up on Monday. The government has removed the windfall tax on crude oil, aviation turbine fuel (ATF), petrol, and diesel exports which should see Oil and Energy heavyweights rally. Overall, contrary to calls of sell every rise, buyers in the Indian markets expect a rally from here on, into the Union Budget of Feb 1st."