Indian benchmark equities opened in positive territory on August 21, with the Nifty hovering around the 24,250 mark despite mixed global market signals. The BSE Sensex gained 54.45 points, or 0.07 per cent, to trade at 77,592.17, while the Nifty advanced 17.10 points, or 0.07 per cent, to 24,248.95. Market breadth remained favourable in early trade, with around 1,520 stocks advancing, 820 declining, and 182 unchanged.

Among the Nifty constituents, Kotak Mahindra Bank, M&M, Eicher Motors, Eternal and Sun Pharma emerged as leading gainers. On the other hand, JSW Steel, Grasim, TCS, Infosys and HDFC Life featured among the notable laggards.

V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments, noted, “Yesterday’s rally in the market is unlikely to sustain, given the latest headwinds from Brent crude approaching $94 and U.S. bond yields again climbing up. Nifty may come under pressure from profit booking in some large-caps. The weakness in large-caps is likely to sustain constraining a sustained rally in the market. However, the momentum in the broader market will continue backed by institutional-DIIs and FIIs- buying and improving fundamentals. Even though large-cap banking stocks are under pressure, NBFCs are on strong wicket backed by strong fundamentals and technicals.”

“The digital platform space is exhibiting strength backed by delivery-based buying and accumulation. Pharma and CDMO stocks continue to find buyers, despite elevated valuations. The rangebound market construct will continue so long as crude prices remains elevated,” he added.

Meanwhile, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sharply changed their stance toward Indian financial stocks during the first half of August, turning into net buyers of Rs 6,535 crore after offloading Rs 2,669 crore in the last two weeks of July. The Rs 9,204 crore reversal highlighted a significant shift in sectoral investment trends, putting financial services at the centre of the changing market dynamics.

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