Indian stocks marginally lower, eyes now on Assembly exit polls
I
ndian stock indices opened largely unchanged on Thursday, to later trade marginally in the red. The relative weakness was likely because investors resorted to profit booking after a bumper Wednesday session, and ahead of Assembly exit polls of five states later this evening.
Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty were 0.2-0.3 per cent lower at the time of filing this report.
On Wednesday, Sensex and Nifty closed 727 points and 207 points with over 1 per cent higher each. Nifty Bank, Nifty Auto, Nifty Financial Services, Nifty IT, Nifty PSU Bank, and Nifty Private Bank were some of the top movers.
The exit polls due on Thursday evening are likely to give indications of the Assembly election outcomes and its impact on the crucial General election in 2024. The exit polls and the actual poll results will be closely monitored by investors.
Over the past month, the Indian stock indices have risen about 4-5 per cent on a cumulative basis.
On the domestic front, investors now also await the second-quarter GDP data, due on Thursday and the S&P Global Manufacturing PMI later on Friday. India's GDP growth for the June quarter came at 7.8 per cent.
"Global cues are supportive with positive news from the mother market US where growth is strong and inflation is trending down. India's Q2 GDP numbers expected today will be better than expected. If these good macros are supported by today's exit poll results coming in tune with market expectations, a rally to record highs can happen soon," said VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services.
Also, Tata Group's Tata Technologies shares are listed on Indian stock exchanges with a bumper 140 per cent premium over its IPO issue price of Rs 500. It was at Rs 1,350 at 10.11 am.
The Tata Company's much-awaited IPO had received heavy interest from all categories of investors, with reportedly over 73.38 lakh total applications. The public offer was subscribed 69.43 times, with the quota reserved for qualified institutional buyers (QIBs) getting booked as high as 203.41 times.
✔️ Indian stocks marginally lower, eyes now on Assembly exit polls
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