Nifty, Sensex open higher tracking Asian peers; remain volatile in early trade

Stock market news: Benchmark indices, S&P BSE Sensex, and NSE Nifty 50 opened higher on Tuesday, February 13, 2024, tracking Asian peers ahead of the all-important US inflation reading. However, the indices slipped to red during early trade indicating a highly volatile session. This comes amid easing domestic inflation and hopes of potential inflows after the addition of five local stocks into a key MSCI index aiding sentiment.

While ICICI Bank, NTPC, and ITC are among the top gainers on the 30-share Sensex, top losers include JSW Steel, Powergrid, and Tata Steel. At 9:30 am, BSE Sensex was trading 126.17 points lower at 70,946.32 and Nifty 50 was trading 64.05 points lower at 21,552.00.

VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services said, "An important ongoing trend in the market is the weakness in the broader market with sharp cuts in many mid and small caps. Many such stocks are driven up by speculative buying without consideration for the fundamentals are correcting. This trend is likely to continue since many such stocks are excessively valued. The explosive growth in the number of Demat accounts and the newbies chasing mid and small caps influenced by recency bias have contributed to this froth in the broader market. A correction in this segment is inevitable and desirable. The correction will give opportunities to buy fairly valued stocks in this segment like PSU Banks."