Market Open Report: Indian Markets Open Higher but Stay Volatile; Iran War Uncertainty Linger 

Mumbai, April 20: Indian equity indices Sensex and Nifty traded above the water on Monday morning, with both benchmarks opening with a positive gap on optimism that overshadowed elevated geopolitical concerns.

Sensex was trading at 78,641.49, higher by 147.95 points or 0.19% at 9: 27 am while Nifty 50 traded at 24,398.60, higher by 45.05 points or 0.18% at 9:28 am. The trade throughout early session was volatile, as both Sensex and Nifty fluctuated between gain and loss. Stocks remained volatile as traders were indecisive to either buy or sell on deep-rooted geopolitical concerns.

Top Gainers

State Bank of India opened with a gap up and traded at an intra-day high of ₹1,103.30. Its last trading price (LTP) was ₹1,102.50 against previous close of ₹1,080.25, jumping over 2%. Trent touched an intra-day high of ₹4,227.60. Trent’s LTP was ₹4184.60 against previous close of ₹4,107.70, rising nearly 1.87%. ICICI Bank opened higher and touched ₹1,370.90 in early trade and its LTP was ₹1,370 against previous close of ₹1,346.80, rising 1.72%. Adani Enterprises opened with a gap up and hit an intra-day high of ₹2,252.30. It was last trading at ₹2,243 against previous close of ₹2,218.30, rising 1.11%. L&T jumped nearly 0.71% with an intra-day high of ₹4,130 and it was last trading at ₹4,125 against previous close of ₹4,096.10.

Laggards

Jio Financial Services plummeted over 2%, as the stock opened with a gap down and touched an intra-day low of ₹237.28 and it was last trading at ₹237.95 against previous close of ₹243.86. Hindalco fell 1.74%, as the scrip touched an intra-day low of ₹1,011.40. HDFC Bank opened with a gap down and traded at ₹790 in early trade. Its LTP was ₹793.60 against previous close of ₹799.90, dipping 0.79%.

US-Iran tensions dominated market sentiment again today. The hopes for a sustained ceasefire dashed after US officials said they had seized an Iranian tanker trying to break through its naval blockade near the strategic Bandar Abbas port on Monday. US President Donald Trump tweeted that the tanker was “now in custody of the United States.” Iran warned of military retaliation and said it will not participate in the second round of talks until after Tuesday’s ceasefire deadline. Oil prices soared on Monday as Strait of Hormuz – a strategic shipping lane through which one-fifth of all global oil passes – was shut down amid US-Iran tensions.

Oil Prices

Oil prices soared on Monday by 6.76% to $96.49 a barrel and US West Texas Intermediate advanced 7.79% to $90.38 after shedding about 9% last Friday.

Asian Markets

Asian shares were trading mixed with Japanese shares surging. Nikkei 225 index jumped 1% to 59,061 helped by a weaker yen and positive domestic factors. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was up by 0.34% to 26,248 and Shanghai composite rose 0.56% to 4,073.

Friday Closing

Markets ended on a strong note Friday. Sensex jumped over 500 points to close above the 78,400-mark and Nifty rose about 155 points to reclaim the 24,300-mark with broad-based buying overpowering sellers in the last hour of trade.

Sources:

• https://www.nseindia.com/market-data/top-gainers-losers
• https://www.bseindia.com/index.html