Indian Shares Open Higher as Oil Prices Ease
Lower crude prices and bargain buying support domestic equities, although geopolitical risks and a busy IPO market limit gains.
India, Sep 18 : Indian equities opened higher on Friday, September 18, as falling crude oil prices and bargain buying provided support following recent market weakness.
The Nifty 50 gained 0.20% to 23,315.80, while the BSE Sensex rose 0.22% to 74,474.19 at around 9:23 a.m. IST. Fifteen of the 16 major sectors were trading in positive territory, while mid-cap and small-cap indexes also advanced by around 0.2%.
Oil prices provided some relief to investors. Brent crude declined around 0.9% to about $104 a barrel as markets assessed the possibility that alternative routes could help maintain supplies from the Middle East despite renewed tensions involving Saudi Arabia and Yemen’s Houthi forces.
Investor activity was also influenced by India’s active initial public offering market. Five IPOs were open for subscription, including the National Stock Exchange’s offering, which had received bids equivalent to 43% of the shares available on its first day.
Tata Group companies were among the stocks in focus after reversing some of their previous-session gains. Tata Motors, Tata Investment and Tata Chemicals were among the companies that recorded declines as investors reassessed developments surrounding Tata Sons.
Despite the positive opening, market sentiment remained sensitive to international developments, particularly Middle East tensions, energy prices and changing interest-rate expectations among major central banks.
