The Indian benchmark equity indexes Sensex and Nifty50 opened moderately higher on Thursday, powered by HDFC Bank, RIL, and IT firms, as in-line US inflation data raised hopes of a Federal Reserve rate decrease in December.

The BSE Sensex was trading 111 points, or 0.14% higher, at 77,801. The Nifty50 was up 32 points, or 0.13%, at 23,590 about 9:20 a.m.

Consumer inflation in the United States increased to 2.6% in October from a year ago, up from 2.4% in September, according to a Labor Department statement issued after market hours on Wednesday. This growth was consistent with analyst estimates.

However, after Trump's election triumph last week, prospects for Fed cutbacks next year have been reduced.

HCL Tech, NTPC, SBI, Reliance, Asian Paints, and HDFC Bank led the Sensex pack higher, while UltraTech Cement, Power Grid, M&M, HUL, and Maruti Suzuki fell.

Individual equities rose 5% in early trading as Nalco's consolidated profit surged more than fivefold to Rs 1,045.97 crore in the quarter ended September 2024 as operating income increased.

Shares of Ashish Kacholia-backed Zaggle Prepaid Ocean Services jumped 5% after the company reported a threefold increase in the September quarter, consolidated net profit reached Rs 20.3 crore.

All major indices opened higher, with the exception of the Nifty FMCG and Healthcare. The Nifty Media and PSU Bank indices led the gains, both climbing more than 1%.

Experts Opinion

"During a market correction, such as the one we are currently experiencing, counter moves will always occur, facilitating a recovery. This might happen anytime now. DIIs' vast liquidity reserves may be able to spark this recovery. However, such a recovery is unlikely to last because the fundamentals are unfavourable," said Dr. V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services.

"The Trump factor has already caused many dramatic adjustments in the markets. The dollar index is strong and growing at 106.61 while US 10-year bond yield is at 4.48%. These two factors are significant impediments for equities markets in emerging economies such as India. The DIIs' vast liquidity and consistent flows into these funds are a favorable aspect. Domestically, the concern is the dismal Q2 numbers and the consensus earnings drop," Vijayakumar stated.

Deepak Jasani, advance of Retail Research at HDFC Securities, stated, "Nifty could now head towards 23340 in the near term, while 23960 may offer resistance in the next upmove."