Indian stocks open Wednesday's trade with minor losses

New Delhi [India], August 24 : After a sharp volatility the previous session, Indian stock indices opened Wednesday's trade with minor losses. At 9.34 a.m., Sensex traded at 58,866.78 points, down 164.52 points or 0.28 per cent, whereas Nifty traded at 17,536.50 points, down 41.00 points or 0.23 per cent.
However, analysts said the outlook remains firm as foreign portfolio investors continued to bet on Indian equities.
"The steady buying by FIIs even in the midst of strengthening the Dollar is significant from the market perspective. There is a near consensus now that India will be an outperformer in the deteriorating global growth environment," said V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services.
"So, FII inflows will be more country-specific rather than emerging market-oriented," Vijayakumar added.
Since July, foreign portfolio investors infused over Rs 50,000 crore worth of equities in India, National Securities Depository data showed.
For the record, till early July, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) were consistently selling equities in the Indian markets for the past nine-to-ten months due to various reasons, including tightening of monetary policy in advanced economies, rising demand for the dollar and high returns from US bonds.
Barring minor losses from the current week, Indian stocks had extended their bull run for the fifth straight week supported by fresh inflows of foreign investments as well as some moderation in inflation -- both in the US and India. Also, the latest softening of international crude oil prices infused buying sentiments among investors.