Mumbai, May 29 (IANS) The Indian benchmark indices opened higher on Thursday amid positive global cues, as buying was seen in the IT and metal sectors in the early trade.

At around 9.29 am, Sensex was trading 237.56 points or 0.29 per cent up at 81,549.88 while the Nifty added 57.00 point or 0.23 per cent at 24,809.45

Nifty Bank was up 86.95 points or 0.16 per cent at 55,503.95 The Nifty Midcap 100 index was trading at 57,247.20 after rising 105.80 points or 0.19 per cent. Nifty Smallcap 100 index was at 17,869.20 after climbing 85.20 points or 0.48 per cent.

According to analysts, the Nifty fell for a second day and yet, the India VIX also dropped. This shows a lack of demand for downside protection, which one doesn’t see when people are really bearish.

“We continue to maintain that 24,462 is the critical level that will decide whether this is a near-term dip or the start of a deeper downturn. Currently, we are holding above it, and so the view is that this is still a buyer’s market,” said Akshay Chinchalkar, Head of Research, Axis Securities.

Meanwhile, in the Sensex pack, Infosys, Tata Steel, Tech Mahindra, Sun Pharma, HCL Tech, Tata Motors, HDFC Bank, Power Grid, TCS and L&T were the top gainers. Whereas, only Bajaj Finance was the top loser.

In the Asian markets, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Seoul, China and Japan were trading in green. Whereas Only Jakarta was trading in red.

In the last trading session, Dow Jones in the US closed at 42,098.70, down 244.95 points, or 0.58 per cent. The S&P 500 ended with a loss of 32.99 points, or 0.56 per cent, at 5,888.55 and the Nasdaq closed at 19,100.94, down 98.23 points, or 0.51 per cent.

US President Donald Trump’s tariff-related news continues to impact markets. “The US Federal court striking down the reciprocal tariffs is a clear message that the president cannot ride roughshod over markets and economy with his decisions,” said Dr VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist Of Geojit Investments Limited.

On the institutional front, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net buyers as they bought equities worth 4,662.92 crore on May 28, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) purchased equities worth 7,911.99 crore.

–IANS

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