Indian stocks rise after three straight session losses

New Delhi [India], August 4 : Indian stock indices traded marginally higher Friday, primarily due to some fresh buying, after they witnessed widespread selling pressure over the past two-three sessions.
Sensex and Nifty were 0.3-0.4 per cent higher from their previous day’s closing at the time of writing this report. Barring Nifty oil and gas, Nifty media, and Nifty auto, all Nifty sectoral indices were in the green in line with the broader indices.
The stock indices declined over the past two-odd sessions due to weak global markets, besides fresh selling by foreign portfolio investors.
Foreign portfolio investors were net buyers for the past five months before turning sellers in August. Data showed they sold stocks worth Rs 2,250 crore thus far in August.
“…FPIs may continue to sell or at least refrain from buying aggressively,” said VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services.
“This is the time to nibble at high-quality large-caps, particularly in banking, capital goods, construction and autos.”
Almost a fortnight ago, Indian stock indices had touched their fresh highs and in the process, the benchmark Sensex topped the 67,000 mark for the first time.
The then consistent inflow of foreign portfolio funds (net buyers in Indian stock markets for the fifth straight month), firm economic outlook, and a relative moderation in inflation contributed to the latest bull run in Indian stocks.
The decline earlier this week could be partly attributable to profit booking by investors on fears of high stock valuations, something flagged by analysts. Also, Fitch downgrading US credit rating also weighed.