Sensex, Nifty start on a quiet note amid Wall Street wobble; metal stocks shine

Market breadth leaned slightly toward the negative

Indian benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty opened on a subdued note on April 22, mirroring weakness in the US markets. Investor sentiment remained cautious, with sectoral indices swinging between gains and losses, while broader markets displayed a flat-to-negative trend in early trade.

Around morning, the Sensex had slipped 115.72 points or 0.15 percent to 79,292.78, while the Nifty was down 36.95 points or 0.15 percent at 24,088.60. Market breadth leaned slightly toward the negative, with 1,205 stocks advancing, 1,354 declining, and 117 remaining unchanged.

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Among sectors, Nifty Metal outperformed in early trade, following the government’s move to impose a 12 percent safeguard duty on the import of certain non-alloy and alloy steel flat products. The measure is aimed at protecting the domestic steel industry from rising import pressure. Stocks like JSW Steel, Tata Steel, and Vedanta saw gains of up to 1 percent in response.

Looking ahead, Devarsh Vakil, Head of Prime Research at HDFC Securities, believes that Indian markets are likely to stay resilient despite turbulence in the US. He expects continued strong buying interest, especially in mid- and small-cap stocks.

“In the last eight trading sessions, the Nifty has surged over 2,400 points. The previous swing high of 23,870 is now likely to act as a support level. On the upside, immediate resistance is expected around 24,226 and 24,546,” Vakil noted.

Globally, US markets took a sharp hit, with major indices falling up to 3 percent overnight. The drop followed renewed pressure from US President Donald Trump for a Federal Reserve rate cut and his public dissatisfaction with Fed Chair Jerome Powell. Trump even suggested he might consider removing Powell—a comment that rattled investor confidence.

Despite the volatility in the US, the impact on Asian markets was relatively muted, with Japanese and South Korean stocks registering only slight losses.

Meanwhile, uncertainty around Powell’s future has also contributed to the US dollar falling to a three-year low. At present, most analysts do not expect the Fed to cut rates more than once this year, if at all. On the commodities front, Brent crude prices are hovering around $66 per barrel—an encouraging sign for oil-importing countries like India.

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