FIRST TRADE: Indices open mildly higher; Sensex up 65 points, Nifty at 23,396

Indian equities in Tuesday's session (January 21, 2025) opened higher tracking positive global cues. At the open, Sensex opened higher mildly by 0.08 per cent or 64.76 at 77,138.2, while the Nifty was up 0.22 per cent or 51.3 at 23,396.05.  Meanwhile, the broader markets underperformed with both the Midcap and Smallcap indices trading in the red.

Sectorally, while most sectors traded in the green, Realty, Consumer Durables, bank and financial services were under pressure.

From the Nifty pack, top gainers included stocks like UltraTech Cement, Apollo Hospital, BPCL, Wipro and Tata Consumer Products. Meanwhile, the top losers included Trent, Adani Enterprises, ONGC, Kotak Mahindra and NTPC.

Dr. V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services said, "Trump 2.0 has kicked off without much clarity on Trump’s likely economic decisions. In his inaugural address he was clear on immigration but sounded vague on tariffs. The indication of a likely 25 per cent tariffs on Canada and Mexico suggests that the tariff hike policy will be implemented gradually."

The currency market has reacted with a cut in the dollar index to 108.43 and the 10-year bond yield has declined to 4.54 per cent. This is the classic case of ‘buy on rumours and sell on news, he added. 

It is likely that further delays in tariff hikes will weaken the dollar and bring down the bond yields. If this happens, it will be good for emerging markets like India. But if the FII flows to India are to turn positive consistently, we will have to see a pick -up in India’s GDP growth and corporate earnings. That’s the crucial macro data to watch.

Technical factors

Anand James, Chief Market Strategist, Geojit Financial Services said, "While 23140 held downsides on expected lines despite the early negativity, upswings failed to find enough momentum to bring down the 23370/90 barrier. It remains the level to beat, as has been the case last week too, but favoured view sees the 23550- 640 objectives continuing to be in play."

However, for momentum to persist, it would be critical to float above 23330 early in the day. Else, expect slippages to 23268/48, allowing another opportunity for bulls to regroup
 

Asian markets

Asian shares were a mixed bag in volatile session in Tuesday's trade after the US President Donald Trump did not levy steep tariffs on China in his first day in office. Meanwhile, the key MSCI Asia ex Japan traded 0.69 per cent higher at 574.83.