Sensex, Nifty Open Higher But Cautious As Crude Nears $94

Indian benchmark indices opened higher on Friday but remained cautious as elevated crude oil prices and persistent stress in global bond markets continued to weigh on investor sentiment.

The Nifty 50 opened at 24,284.05, compared with Thursday's close of 24,231.85, while the Sensex started at 77,701.07 after settling at 77,537.72 in the previous session.

Power Grid, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Eternal and NTPC were among the top gainers at the open, while TCS, Infosys, HDFC Life, JSW Steel and Bajaj Auto led the losses.

Crude Prices, Global Yields In Focus

Crude oil futures traded lower on Friday morning despite the US threat to impose the "toughest sanctions in history" on Iran.

At 9:38 am, October Brent crude futures were at $93.46, down 0.34%, while October WTI crude futures stood at $86.40, lower by 0.50%.

On the Multi Commodity Exchange, September crude oil futures were trading at ₹8,282, down 0.26%, while October futures stood at ₹8,123, lower by 0.23%.

Asian markets opened higher but remained on track for weekly declines as stress in global bond markets showed little signs of easing. A diplomatic deadlock in the Gulf has also pushed oil prices to one-month highs, raising concerns over inflation and energy supplies.

FPI Selling Returns After Two Sessions

Foreign portfolio investors turned net sellers in Indian equities after two consecutive sessions of buying, with outflows of ₹583 crore on Thursday.

Domestic institutional investors, however, provided support, with provisional data from the NSE showing DII inflows of ₹3,538 crore.

V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments, said Thursday's rally was unlikely to sustain given Brent crude approaching $94 and rising US bond yields.

"Nifty may come under pressure from profit booking in some large-caps. The weakness in large-caps is likely to sustain constraining a sustained rally in the market," he said.

However, Vijayakumar expects momentum in the broader market to continue, supported by institutional buying and improving fundamentals.

He said NBFCs remain on a strong footing despite pressure on large-cap banking stocks, while digital platforms, pharma and CDMO stocks continue to attract buying.

"The rangebound market construct will continue so long as crude prices remains elevated," he said.