The Indian benchmark indices showed marginal improvement after opening on a flat note, taking cues from weak global cues. BSE Sensex was trading higher than the 62,500 mark and opened at 62,504 points and NSE Nifty-50 surpassed the 18,600 mark after opening at 18,570 points.
The domestic market on Thursday is marginally performing better as Dalal Street is closely monitoring Gujarat and Himachal assembly election outcomes. Sensex closed 215 points (0.34%) lower Wednesday at 62,410.68. Similarly, the broader Nifty fell 82.25 (0.44%) to 18,560.
Meanwhile, Asian equities and US stocks were mixed on Thursday as the recessionary pressure and concerns over Fed's stance on rate hike continue to feed market sentiment.
Prashanth Tapse – Research Analyst, Senior VP (Research) at Mehta Equities, said, "Besides, the recession fear is fast building up in the US amidst slowing growth forecasts and a hawkish Federal Reserve. This will definitely weigh on global markets, including India, as any such fear could prompt investors, mainly FIIs, to pull out funds from the emerging markets."
"Weak market sentiment is likely to persist in early trades Thursday, as overseas key US and Asian indices exhibited a range-bound trend with a negative bias. All eyes will be on the poll outcome in the two states of Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh, which can have a sentimental impact on the markets." He added.
Early trends show that the ruling Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) is certain to win the Gujarat Assembly elections for the seventh consecutive time. However, in the Himachal election, the verdict cannot be easily predicted as both BJP and Congress are locked in a neck-and-neck fight.
