Indian Shares Rise At Pre-Open As Benchmarks Poised For Higher Start On Asia And Wall Street Rebound 

Mumbai, July 31: Indian shares rose at pre open signalling a higher start for benchmarks as oil eased and Asian and American shares staged a strong rebound.  

Nifty 50 rose 0.4% and Sensex advanced 0.27% at pre open while Gift Nifty rose 0.4%.  

Foreign portfolio investors turned net buyers of Indian equities, making purchases worth ₹3,624 crore ($378.76 million) on Thursday, according to provisional exchange data. Their buying has gathered pace, with FPIs investing $864 million in the Indian stock market over the past two sessions and taking their total inflows for July to $1.6 billion.  

Brent crude fell 1.16% on Friday as markets weighed Saudi Arabia’s efforts to spearhead a 14-member maritime alliance focused on bolstering security and defence cooperation in the Red Sea.  

Swiggy will be in focus as the food-delivery major narrowed its first-quarter loss. The company is also looking to expand its network as it seeks to accelerate growth in its business.  

Tata Steel, the steelmaker, beat market expectations with its first-quarter profit, amid elevated coking coal costs.  

AWL Agri Business, the edible oils and food products company, reported a 48.2% year-on-year rise in quarterly profit, supported by robust demand across its food and cooking oil portfolio. 

Asian Markets Rally, Tech Stocks Lead Recovery 

Asian equities advanced sharply in early trade on Friday, recovering from recent weakness as investors drew confidence from a rebound in U.S. technology stocks and stronger-than-expected corporate earnings. 

South Korea’s Kospi led gains across the region, surging 13.8%, while Japan’s Nikkei rose 4.4%. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan climbed 5.1%.  

The recovery came after a volatile stretch for global equities, during which concerns over elevated technology valuations and the scale of investment needed to develop artificial intelligence infrastructure weighed on investor sentiment. 

The latest rebound indicates renewed appetite for risk, with strong corporate earnings helping offset concerns over stretched valuations and uncertainty surrounding the global interest-rate outlook. 

Wall Street Rebounds On Strong Tech Gains 

U.S. stocks ended sharply higher in the previous session, led by technology shares. 

The S&P 500 gained 1.7%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.2%. The Nasdaq Composite outperformed, climbing 2.8%, as investors piled into technology and semiconductor stocks. 

Microsoft shares surged after its latest results and outlook helped ease concerns over the company’s massive capital expenditure on artificial intelligence infrastructure. The strong performance provided fresh momentum to the broader AI trade and lifted sentiment across the technology sector. 

The gains on Wall Street could provide support to Indian IT stocks at the open, with investors likely to track heavyweight names in the sector for a positive reaction. 

Fed Concerns, Bond Yields Keep Investors Cautious 

Despite the strong rebound in equities, concerns over the U.S. Federal Reserve’s interest-rate outlook remain in focus. 

Investors continue to assess the path of monetary policy amid uncertainty over inflation and economic growth. Elevated U.S. Treasury yields could also weigh on global equity valuations, particularly in rate-sensitive sectors, and limit the scope for a sustained risk-on move. 

Oil Prices, Geopolitics In Focus 

Crude oil prices remained another key factor for global markets, with prices easing despite renewed geopolitical tensions and offering some relief to oil-importing economies such as India. 

Lower crude prices are generally positive for India as they can help contain inflationary pressures, reduce the country’s import bill and support the rupee. However, any escalation in geopolitical tensions that disrupts oil supplies could quickly reverse the trend and trigger greater market volatility. 

Source

•  Exchanges