Stock Market: Sensex, Nifty Trade Flat Amid Volatility. Wipro Shares Up 3 Per Cent

Stock update: On the 30-share Sensex platform, Bajaj twins, Axis Bank, HUL, Asian Paints, PowerGrid were trading the red during early trade

The two key equity benchmarks, Sensex and Nifty, were trading flat on Friday, despite firm global sentiment.

At 9.45 am, the BSE Sensex was marginally down 26 points at 60,623, while the NSE Nifty was trading at 17,910, down 4 points.

On the 30-share Sensex platform, Bajaj twins, Axis Bank, HUL, Asian Paints, PowerGrid were trading the red during early trade. On the flipside, Wipro, TechM, SBI, Reliance, Airtel, Sun Pharma were among the winners. Wipro rallied over 3 per cent in morning trade, though its consolidated net profit declined 0.4 per cent to Rs 3,074.5 crore in Q4FY23 from Rs 3,087.3 crore a year ago.

In the broader markets, the BSE Midcap index added 0.41 per cent, while the BSE Smallcap index advanced 0.5 per cent.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 rose 0.49 per cent, while in Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 was up 0.47 per cent, the South Korean Kospi was 0.7 per cent higher. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index popped 1.31 per cent in early trade, while the Hang Seng Tech index jumped 2.07 per cent. Overnight in the US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 gained 1.57 per cent and 1.96 per cent, respectively, while the Nasdaq Composite climbed 2.43 per cent. Q1CY23 GDP in the US grew slower than expected at 1.1 per cent.

In the previous session on Thursday, the S&P BSE Sensex rallied 349 points to settle at 60,649. The Nifty50, meanwhile, jumped 101 points to end the April F&O series at 17,915.

In Asian markets, Seoul traded lower, while Japan, Shanghai, and Hong Kong quoted in the green.

The US markets had ended with significant gains on Thursday.

"Markets may see a volatile opening as SGX Nifty has been witnessing sharp gyration even as key US indices bounced back sharply from the recent slump to end sharply higher in overnight trades. Going by the recent uptrend, there are chances that the Nifty could recapture the psychological 18,000-mark. FII buying of local shares has also continued and they bought shares to the tune of Rs 1,653 crore in yesterday's trades, while sluggish crude oil below $80 a barrel bodes well for India's economy," Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities Ltd said in his pre-market opening quote.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.41 per cent to $78.69 per barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were buyers on Thursday as they bought equities worth Rs 1,652.95 crore, according to exchange data.

Meanwhile, the rupee gained 4 paise to 81.75 against the US dollar in early trade on Friday tracking a weak American currency and foreign fund inflows. Forex traders said the rupee is trading in a narrow range as the support from crude oil prices below USD 80 a barrel was negated by muted domestic equities.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened at 81.77 against the dollar and then rose to 81.75, registering a rise of 4 paise over its previous close. On Thursday, the rupee closed at 81.79 against the US currency.