Nifty, Sensex come off opening high as DRL, Infosys drag

• Hero Motocorp, Axis Bank, Bajaj Finserv, HDFC Life, and Reliance are some of the top gainers.
• Dr Reddy, Infosys, HCL Technologies, Sun Pharma are some of the laggards.
• Asian stocks have mirrored the positive momentum observed in the US market.

The stock market commenced its trading day on a positive note, sustaining the upward momentum from previous sessions. However, the benchmarks, the Nifty and the Sensex, came off their opening high in the first hour of trade and at the time of publishing were trading in the green but with marginal gains.

The Sensex opened at 71,940.43, up by 282.72 points, while Nifty began the day at 21,703.40, reflecting an increase of 84.65 points.

In the initial trading hours, 45 Nifty companies witnessed advances, while 5 experienced declines.

The stock of Polycab India fell sharply by 15% on Thursday morning trade, after news of tax evasion to the tune of ₹200 crore hit the markets.

Hero Motocorp, Axis Bank, Bajaj Finserv, HDFC Life, and Reliance emerged as the top gainers, contributing to the positive sentiment. Conversely, Dr Reddy, Infosys, HCL Technologies, Sun Pharma, and Wipro found themselves among the early top losers.

Varun Aggarwal, founder and managing director, Profit Idea, said, "Analysing the Nifty 50 chart, a positive candle on the daily chart with a lower shadow indicated a false downside breakout of immediate support at 21,500 levels. This pattern suggested renewed buying activity and a bounce back from the 10-day EMA support at 21,550, signalling a positive trend".

He added, "Globally, Asian stocks mirrored the positive momentum observed in the US market. Japanese equities, particularly blue-chip stocks, opened higher, reaching levels not seen in over three decades".

Contributing factors included a surge in US tech shares and the depreciation of the yen against the dollar.

In the early trade on Thursday, Japanese Nikkei 225 rose by 1.40%, Topix index by 1.47%, South Korea's KOSPI by 0.28%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index by 0.35%, and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 by 0.48%"

On the US front, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 170.57 points, the S&P 500 rose by 26.95 points, and the Nasdaq Composite advanced by 111.94 points.

Oil prices experienced a slight increase in Asian trading amid escalating tensions in the Middle East and a surprise build in U.S. crude stockpiles. WTI crude traded at $71.24, down by 0.18%, and Brent crude at $76.60, down by 0.26%.

Gold prices saw an uptick supported by a weaker dollar ahead of a consumer inflation report, providing insights into the U.S. Federal Reserve's interest rate trajectory.

The US Dollar Index (DXY), measuring the dollar against a basket of six foreign currencies, traded down by 0.06% at 102.30.

As the trading day unfolds, investors are closely monitoring global cues and economic indicators, positioning themselves in response to dynamic market conditions.

(With text input from ANI)