Stock market today (AI image)

Stock market today: Nifty50 and BSE Sensex, the main stock market benchmarks, rose in opening trade on Wednesday as global cues remained positive and optimism around the India-US trade deal continued. While Nifty was near the 26,000 mark, BSE Sensex rose over 100 points. At 9:16 AM, Nifty50 was trading at 25,983.75, up 49 points or 0.19%. BSE Sensex was at 84,403.92, up 130 points or 0.15%.Experts are of the view that the broader trend remains mildly positive in the near term, though gains may remain limited unless the benchmarks decisively move above the 26,000 level.Dr. VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments Limited says, “There are two trends that can sustain the ongoing mild rally in the market. One, this is a comprehensive rally with the broader market, too, participating with more enthusiasm. The appreciation in mid and small caps have brought cheer to retail portfolios and retail investors are participating eagerly in the rally. Two, sustained FII selling, which has been a major drag on the market, has stopped. FIIs have been buyers in the market in the last five out of six trading sessions. This cannot be taken as a complete reversal of the FII stance; but the sustained selling appears to be over.It is also important to note that the around 10 percent depreciation in dollar during the last one year has significantly eroded the dollar gains of foreign investors from investment in the US market. So FIIs might look for markets outside the US for gains this year and beyond. The rupee stability and hope of appreciation in the months ahead also can nudge FIIs to turn buyers in India. Apart from these factors, the improving earnings growth prospects in FY27 and the strong macro construct will provide the fundamental support to a modest rally. An unhealthy trend in the market now is the inflows into gold and silver ETFs exceeding the inflows into active equity funds. This is the time to put more money into equity than to precious metals which have turned highly volatile rather than a safe haven.”In the US stock market, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq finished lower on Tuesday, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average recorded its third consecutive record closing high. Investors reacted to weaker-than-expected retail sales data and awaited an important labour market report that could provide clearer direction on the Federal Reserve’s interest rate outlook.Across Asia, equities hovered near record levels ahead of the release of key US employment data scheduled for Wednesday. Weak retail sales numbers in the US strengthened expectations that the Federal Reserve may move toward interest rate cuts later this year, supporting regional market sentiment.On the domestic front, foreign portfolio investors were marginal net buyers, purchasing shares worth Rs 69.45 crore on Monday, according to exchange data. Domestic institutional investors remained supportive, recording net purchases of Rs 1,174 crore during the same period.(Disclaimer: Recommendations and views on the stock market, other asset classes or personal finance management tips given by experts are their own. These opinions do not represent the views of The Times of India)