Indian markets open flat, experts raise concern on overvaluation of small, midcap stocks

• Indian markets opened flat on Thursday with the Nifty index starting at 22,614 points and the Sensex at 74,253 points.
• The Nifty Next 50 rose by 101 points to 68,430, while the Nifty Bank gained 242.75 points to reach 48,024.
• In the Nifty 50 list, IndusInd Bank, ONGC, Asian Paints, SBI Life, and SBI shares were the top gainers in the opening session.

Indian markets opened flat on Thursday with the Nifty index starting at 22,614 points and the Sensex at 74,253 points. All indices in the broader market opened in green with marginal gains. The Nifty Next 50 rose by 101 points to 68,430, while the Nifty Bank gained 242.75 points to reach 48,024.

The market experts attribute the cautious optimism to the approaching election result date. Despite the overall cautious sentiment, there is a noticeable return of investor confidence, leading to small investments.

"We expect sideways to positive markets from here on. The RBI dividend to the government will help sentiment today in India. India VIX came down yesterday. Concerns are being raised on the overall valuations of Indian markets, and especially of the small and midcap segments where many stocks are at very elevated valuations," said Ajay Bagga, Banking and Market expert.

In the Nifty 50 list, IndusInd Bank, ONGC, Asian Paints, SBI Life, and SBI shares were the top gainers in the opening session. On the other hand, Power Grid, Sun Pharma, JSW Steel, Hindalco, and Grasim were among the top losers.

By the time of filing this report, out of the 2,156 stocks that opened for trading, 1,418 were trading in advance, 650 were declining, and 88 remained unchanged.

"Nifty is trending bullishly within a rising channel, with support at 22,500. The index is likely to move towards 22,800 in the short term, with immediate support at 22,600. A dip below 22,600 might briefly push the index towards 22,500. Any dip should be seen as a buying opportunity," said Varun Aggarwal, MD of Profit Idea.

Asian markets declined on Thursday, influenced by the US Fed minutes that revealed a cautious approach to monetary easing amid persistent inflation. MSCI's Asia-Pacific index outside Japan dropped 0.57 per cent, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index fell 0.8 per cent.

The US tech Nvidia's Q1 earnings, posted on Thursday, showed a net income surged to USD 14.88 billion, up from USD 2.04 billion a year earlier, with revenue tripling to USD 26.04 billion.

The US Fed minutes revealed some officials are willing to raise interest rates, unsettling markets. On Wednesday, the S&P 500 fell 0.27 per cent to 5,307, the Nasdaq dropped 0.18 per cent to 16,801, and the Dow Jones finished down 0.5 per cent at 39,671.04. The US Treasury 10-year yield rose to 4.42 per cent, while the Dollar Index peaked at 105.

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