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Home > Stock Market Updates > Opening Bell - 24 / 03 / 25
Podcast: Stock Market Updates
Episode:

Opening Bell - 24 / 03 / 25
Category: Business
Duration: 00:02:05
Publish Date: 2025-03-24 03:29:37
Description:

Opening Bell - Morning Commentary


Markets Rally as Trump Signals Potential Tariff Flexibility


US index futures are buoyant on signs that the next round of President Donald Trump's trade tariffs on April 2nd could be more measured than previously suggested. Trump has symbolically branded the April 2 start date for his reciprocal tariffs as America's "liberation day."


Last week, U.S. stocks successfully broke their multi-week downward trend. The market rally gained momentum after the Federal Reserve maintained interest rates at their current levels, aligning with widespread market expectations. Investors responded favourably to the Fed's announcement that it would decelerate its quantitative tightening (QT) program beginning in April, reducing the pace at which it shrinks its Treasury securities holdings.


Asian stock markets are trading mixed during early trade on Monday. The Nifty delivered an impressive 4.26% gain last week, marking its strongest weekly performance since February 2021.


The weekly performance was particularly noteworthy across all major indices. The Nifty surged 953.20 points (4.26%), while the Sensex climbed 3,076.60 points (4.17%). Even more impressive were the gains in the mid and small-cap segments, with the Midcap 100 index rising by a remarkable 7.74%—its strongest weekly performance since April 2020—and the Smallcap 100 index soaring 8.64%, marking its most substantial weekly gain since June 2020.


The upcoming Q4 FY25 earnings reports are expected to show robust results, potentially lifting the overall market sentiment.


The Indian rupee continued its upward trajectory, appreciated to 85.97 against the US dollar—a two-and-a-half-month high—driven by a weakening dollar, strong foreign capital inflows, and the buoyant equity market.


As we approach the end of the financial year, some investors may choose to strategically sell underperforming investments to realize capital losses, which can then be used to offset capital gains realized elsewhere in their portfolio, thereby reducing their overall tax liability for the year. We are likely to see larger volumes in such underperforming stocks this week.


Aggressive short covering by FPIs in the Index Futures segment during the last week supported the rise in indices. Out of their total positions, 68% still remain on the short side. We expect their short covering activity to continue in the coming days, which augurs well for the market's upward momentum.


The underlying trend of Nifty continues to remain positive. Having surpassed the initial hurdle of the downward-sloping trend line, Nifty is facing immediate resistance at the 200 EMA of 23,400. If this hurdle is surpassed, markets could advance toward the next resistance level of 23,800 in the near term. Support for the Nifty has shifted upward to the 23,200-23,250 band.
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