Stock market today: Nifty50 opens flat; BSE Sensex above 81,900

Stock market today: Nifty50 and BSE Sensex, the Indian equity benchmark indices, opened flat in trade on Monday, While Nifty50 was above 25,100, BSE Sensex was up over 40 points. At 9:17 AM, Nifty50 was trading at 25,116.55, up 3 points or 0.010%.

BSE Sensex was at 81,948.63, up 44 points or 0.054%.Market experts indicate that the short-term outlook remains positive, despite possible fluctuations around central bank announcements, whilst developments in India-US trade talks could further enhance investor confidence.Dr. VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments Limited says, “There are indications of India’s underperformance this year getting corrected.

The 8-day winning streak of Nifty has the potential to continue supported by fundamental and technical factors. Fundamentally, earnings are set to improve moderately from Q3 FY26 onwards and accelerate in FY27 with earnings growth above 15%. Technical support to the rally can come from covering of the shorts which continue to be significant.

”“Investors should focus on sectors which have the potential to lead earnings growth.

Automobiles, white goods, healthcare, cement and hotels will be the beneficiaries of earnings revival. Capital goods, telecom, consumer discretionary like jewellery and digital stocks too are on strong wicket. However, investors should avoid chasing overvalued stocks, particularly in the small cap segment."US markets achieved their strongest weekly performance in five weeks on Friday. The S&P 500 declined marginally by less than 0.1%, just below its previous day's record.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average reduced by 273 points, or 0.6%, whilst the Nasdaq composite increased 0.4%, achieving another record.Asian markets began cautiously on Monday preceding a significant week, with expectations of the US Federal Reserve initiating its monetary easing cycle and potentially signalling additional rate reductions.Gold prices remained stable on Monday, staying close to their peak, as market participants awaited the US Federal Reserve meeting this week.

The Fed is anticipated to reduce rates following two successive disappointing labour market reports.Crude oil prices stayed largely unchanged on Monday as traders evaluated Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian refineries, which could affect oil and fuel exports. Additionally, traders monitored US fuel consumption growth.Foreign portfolio investors purchased shares worth Rs 129.58 crore net on Friday. Domestic institutional investors were net purchasers, investing Rs 1556 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)