Mumbai, 11 August

The Indian stock market opened almost flat on Monday as investors stayed cautious ahead of the highly anticipated meeting between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin scheduled for the weekend.

The Nifty 50 index began the session at 24,371.50, posting a marginal gain of 8.20 points or 0.03 per cent, while the BSE Sensex opened at 79,885.36, up by 27.57 points or 0.03 per cent.

Market participants are closely watching for any developments from the meeting to assess potential tariff moves by Trump on India.

Ajay Bagga, Banking and Market Expert, told ANI, "Truce, Tariffs and Truncated week are the drivers this week. Expect a truce announcement this weekend as Trump meets Putin in Alaska. Tariffs are at front and centre as China's deadline looms tonight, with a further extension likely. Independence Day on Friday will bring a four-day market week and a three-day long weekend, with the possibility of a Ukraine-Russia truce during the break. Expect volatile markets with no positive catalyst for Indian markets for now. The government has not announced any relief measures for exporters hit with Trump Tariffs, which could be a trigger to improve sentiments. For now, we are looking at shallow moves with potential for a recovery by the weekend."

In the broader NSE market indices, Nifty 100 rose by 0.04 per cent, while Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 opened lower.

Among sectoral indices, Nifty Auto gained 0.22 per cent, Nifty Metal was up 0.07 per cent, and Nifty Realty rose 0.13 per cent. On the downside, Nifty IT and Nifty FMCG slipped around 0.09 per cent, Nifty Pharma edged down marginally, and Nifty Consumer Durables dropped 0.81 per cent.

Top gainers in the Nifty 50 in early trade included Grasim, State Bank of India, Trent, NTPC, and Adani Enterprises. The top losers were ICICI Bank, Bharat Electronics (BEL), Tata Motors, Asian Paints, Adani Ports, and Tata Consumer Products.

On the corporate earnings front, Astral Limited, SJVN, Ipca Laboratories, BEML, Bata India, JM Financial, Travel Food Services, Embassy Developments, Cello World, Belrise, and Eureka Forbes are among the companies scheduled to announce their first-quarter results today.

SEBI-registered analyst and Alphamojo Financial Services founder Sunil Gurjar noted, "The Nifty 50 did not perform well, closing down by 202 points, indicating a strong bearish trend. This marks the Nifty's sixth consecutive weekly decline, its longest losing streak since March 2020. A breakdown below 24,650 would confirm a continuation of the downtrend. The price is currently hovering near its 200-EMA, and a cross below this level would signal more downward momentum."

He added that the Nifty 50 is nearing a crucial support at 23,750, and a fall below this point could lead to increased negative sentiment and further downside. However, if the index holds at this level, a reversal is also possible.

In other Asian markets, Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 1.82 per cent, Taiwan's weighted index gained 0.30 per cent, and South Korea's KOSPI was up 0.18 per cent. Singapore's Straits Times and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index were trading lower at the time of filing this report.