Sensex Today: Benchmark indices were flat but in the green on Wednesday, after a day’s hiatus, as global moves supported an uptrend. The S&P BSE Sensex quoted at 64,964 levels in early deals, up 22 points or 0.03 per cent.

The Nifty50, on the other hand, held above the 19,400-mark, rising 17 points or 0.09 per cent. The rally was led by BPCL, Asian Paints, Cipla, Adani Enterprises, UPL, Coal India, Tata Motors, Dr Reddy’s Labs, and Divis Labs

Meanwhile, in the broader markets, the BSE MidCap and SmallCap indices rose 0.5 pe cent each.

Among sectors, the Nifty Pharma and PSU Bank indices were racing ahead with up to 0.7 per cent gains. The Nifty Financial Services index, on the other hand, shed 0.19 per cent.

Market View | Dr. V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services

There are three significant trends in equity markets now: One, global markets are stable as indicated by the 7-day winning streak in Dow and S&P 500. Two, a risk on is evident in markets primarily driven by the sharp correction in the US 10-year bond yield from the recent high of 5% to 4.57% now. Three, the crash in Brent crude from around $94 to below $82 now indicates that the market doesn’t expect the Israel-Gaza conflict to aggravate into a wider regional conflict. In brief, the market construct is favourable for the continuation of the rally despite the geopolitical uncertainties.

The tug of war between the FIIs and DIIs continues with sustained selling by the FIIs and sustained buying by the DIIs. Since the buy on dips strategy is working, retail investors are buying in the broader market on every dip. There is no selling pressure in the broader market since FII selling is confined to large caps.

The best opportunity for long-term investors is in high quality large caps since these stocks will do well when FIIs eventually turn buyers.