MUMBAI: Sensex trading stable after opening at all-time high

MUMBAI: Indian equity indices opened at all-time highs on Monday. The Sensex and Nifty hit new all-time highs of 77,079 and 23,411, respectively, in early trade. At 9:45 am, the Sensex was up 9 points at 76,703 and the Nifty was up 4 points at 23,293. The broader markets are trading in a bullish trend. The Nifty Midcap 100 was up 230 points, or 44 per cent, at 53,425 and the Nifty Smallcap was up 133 points, or 0.78 per cent, at 17,349. The India Volatility Index (India VIX) is at 17.09, up nearly one per cent. Among sectoral indices, PSU banks, financial services, realty, energy and pharma are among the major gainers. Private banks, metals and IT are the major laggards. In the Sensex pack, PowerGrid, UltraTech Cement, Axis Bank, NTPC, Nestle, Reliance, SBI, Bharti Airtel and Tata Motors are among the top gainers and Tech Mahindra, Wipro, Infosys, HCL Tech and Titan are among the top losers. “It is important to understand that the major driving force in this bull market is Indian retail investors, including HNIs. The large selling by FIIs is being offset by aggressive buying by DIIs and retail investors,” experts said. They said retail investors buying equities worth Rs 21,179 crore on June 4, a day when Nifty fell 5.9 per cent, reflects the buying power and optimism of retail investors. Asian markets are trading mixed. Tokyo and Shanghai are trading in the green, while markets in Seoul, Bangkok, Hong Kong and Jakarta are trading in the red. US markets closed in the red on Friday. Crude oil benchmark Brent crude is at $79 and Brent crude at $75.