Sensex Opens Marginally Higher; Banking & Healthcare Stocks Gain

Asian shares are higher today as Japanese and Hong Kong shares show gains. The Nikkei 225 is up 0.4% while the Hang Seng is up 1.2%. The Shanghai Composite is trading up by 0.9%. US stocks climbed on Monday, led by shares of technology companies. However, the gains were limited as President Donald Trump indicated that a decision was imminent on whether the US would decertify a 2015 Iran nuclear pact.

Back home, India share markets opened the day marginally higher. The BSE Sensex is trading up by 66 points while the NSE Nifty is trading up by 15 points. The BSE Mid Cap index is trading down by 0.1%, while the BSE Small Cap index has opened the day up by 0.1%.

Sectoral indices have opened the day on a mixed note with banking stocks and healthcare stocks witnessing maximum buying interest. IT stocks and consumer durables stocks have opened the day in red. The rupee is trading at 67.26 to the US$.

From the banking space, ICICI Bank share price will be in focus today as the bank reported a 50% drop in its fourth-quarter profit as it set aside cash to cover a surge in bad loans. The board also stayed mum on the controversy surrounding its chief executive officer Chanda Kochhar on allegations of conflict of interest with respect to loans made to the Videocon Group.

Apart from the above, Godrej Consumer Products share price, Jubilant FoodWorks share price, Blue Dart share price, and HEG share price will be in focus today as they are scheduled to report their results for the quarter ended March 2018.

In the news from currency markets, as per an article in the Economic Times, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) intervened in the currency markets yesterday to prevent a further fall in the Indian rupee which breached the 67 mark against a dollar for the first time in around 15 months.

The slide in rupee is seen on the back of a widening trade gap and runaway import bills fueled by rising crude oil prices.