
Stock market today: Nifty50 and BSE Sensex, the Indian equity benchmark indices, opened flat in trade on Thursday. While Nifty50 was above 25,050, BSE Sensex was above 81,700. At 9:20 AM, Nifty50 was trading at 25,057.50, up 1 point or 0.0024%. BSE Sensex was at 81,723.83, up 8 points or 0.010%.While seasonal demand and GST reforms offer underlying support, experts note that currency depreciation and global challenges, including India-US trade negotiations, may restrict market movement.Dr. VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments Limited says, “In the absence of immediate triggers the market has been slowly drifting down. Auto stocks have been bullish, partly discounting the potential earnings growth of the industry. The significant drag on the market throughout this year has been the sustained selling by FIIs. The FII strategy of selling in India and buying in other markets has paid rich dividends as evidenced by the huge underperformance of the Indian market vis a vis others. While the Nifty is down 3.6 % YoY, Hang Seng is up by 38.6 % and Kospi is up by 33.73 %. This huge underperformance and the high valuations in India has emboldened FIIs to continue selling in India.”“The reforms being implemented in India along with the low interest rate regime have the potential to push economic growth and corporate earnings growth higher. This should bring FIIs back to the Indian market. But we don’t know when this will happen in a sustained basis. This is the right time for investors to continue accumulating high quality stocks. Patience is the key.”US equities finished lower on Wednesday for a second consecutive session. Investors booked profits near record highs after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell noted potentially elevated stock valuations, whilst awaiting upcoming inflation data.Asian equities showed mixed movement at opening, following US market declines as the artificial intelligence-driven rally showed signs of slowing.Gold prices recovered on Thursday, supported by anticipated US interest rate reductions and geopolitical uncertainty, whilst a marginally weaker dollar provided additional support ahead of crucial economic releases.Crude oil prices decreased as traders secured profits following a surge to seven-week highs in the previous session, triggered by unexpected falls in US crude stockpiles and worries about potential supply disruptions from Ukrainian strikes on Russian energy facilities.Foreign portfolio investors sold shares worth Rs 2,425 crore net on Wednesday. Domestic institutional investors were net purchasers at Rs 1,212 crore.(Disclaimer: Recommendations and views on the stock market and other asset classes given by experts are their own. These opinions do not represent the views of The Times of India)