The Indian stock markets opened higher on Thursday, building on gains from the previous session as investors anticipate an interest rate cut from the Reserve Bank of India’s upcoming policy meeting. Pharma and healthcare stocks showed early strength.
At 9:29 am, the S&P BSE Sensex was up 273 points at 81,271.25, and the NSE Nifty50 gained 86.55 points to reach 24,706.75.
Dr. VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments, highlighted key concerns weighing on markets: possible Russian retaliation over recent Ukraine incidents and a sharp slowdown indicated by the US ISM PMI data, suggesting the US economy is weakening.
Among the early market movers, Eternal surged nearly 3%, Reliance Industries climbed over 1%, followed by PowerGrid, Adani Ports, and Mahindra & Mahindra—all posting positive gains. On the downside, Bajaj Finance led losses, slipping 0.59%, alongside Nestle India, Bajaj Finserv, Bharti Airtel, and Axis Bank.
Vijayakumar also noted that US 10-year bond yields have dropped to 4.36% amid economic slowdown fears, which could benefit emerging markets like India in the medium term. However, near-term uncertainty may keep markets range-bound. He recommends a “buy on dips” strategy, favoring rate-sensitive sectors in anticipation of the RBI’s expected rate cut on June 8.
