Nifty Opens Higher, Asian Markets Mixed

Benchmark indices opened the day higher as optimism on Covid-19 infections flattening continued to grow. The Sensex was trading with gains of 250 points, while the Nifty was higher by 86 points.

Shares in L&T Technology 6% fell after the company's results did not impress the markets. The company reported a net profit of Rs 204.8 crore in Q4 FY21 compared to Rs 186.1 crore in Q3 FY21.

Shares in Tata Chemicals dropped after the company reported a fall in its net profits. The stock was down 5 per cent, following its results. Banking stocks, which had fallen on Monday managed to recover and trade higher.

Among the top Nifty losers in trade were titan, Power Grid and Cipla.

"Going forward, markets are likely to be range bound as the fear of the continuous rise in covid cases and extended lockdowns in various states, are likely to cap the upside. We expect Nifty to trade in the range of 14200-15000 zone. So far the strong quarterly earnings season has been supportive to the market but the poor progress on the vaccination front is denting the sentiments. Investors should seize the opportunity of accumulating stocks during this volatility phase, while traders should be cautious and stock specific with timely profit booking approach," says Siddhartha Khemka, Head - Retail Research, Motilal Oswal Financial Services.