Stock Market Opens Higher; Sensex Nears 83,350, Nifty Tops 25,425

Indian equity markets opened on a positive note on Friday, extending gains from the previous session. The Sensex rose 78.23 points, or 0.09 per cent, to 83,317.70, while the Nifty advanced 24.50 points, or 0.10 per cent, to trade at 25,429.80 in early deals. Investor sentiment remained upbeat amid firm global cues and steady inflows. The broader market showed a positive bias with 1,435 stocks ending in the green, while 752 closed lower and 140 remained unchanged.

On the Nifty 50, leading the list of gainers were Bajaj Finance, Bharat Electronics, Bharti Airtel, Bajaj Finserv, and Wipro. On the flip side, Trent, Tech Mahindra, Tata Steel, Mahindra & Mahindra, and IndusInd Bank were among the key laggards.

Market sentiment remained somewhat uncertain in early trade, reflecting the cautious tone seen in the previous session, experts noted. Sector-wise performance on the NSE was varied, with most indices posting limited movement. Nifty FMCG led sectoral gainers with a 0.4 per cent rise, followed closely by Nifty Media, which was up 0.5%, and Nifty Realty, adding 0.3 per cent. Other sectors like Nifty PSU Bank, Nifty Infrastructure, and Nifty Pharma also recorded minor gains.

In contrast, Nifty Auto and Nifty Metal slipped by 0.2 per cent each, showing some pressure.

The broader market exhibited a slightly better tone, with the Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 indices inching up by around 0.1 per cent, reflecting selective buying interest.

VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments Limited, said, “There are no triggers to break the 25200-25800 Nifty range immediately. Even while trading within this range the market is resilient. This resilience is supported externally by the strength of the mother market US where S&P 500 and Nasdaq are at record highs and domestically by the strong and sustained flows into the market, which has made DIIs sustained buyers in the market."

Previous Trading Session

In the previous trading session on Thursday, Indian equity benchmarks ended lower after a volatile trading session, with the Nifty closing near the 25,400 level. The Sensex fell 170.22 points, or 0.20 per cent, to settle at 83,239.47, while the Nifty dropped 48.10 points, or 0.19 per cent, to end at 25,405.30. Market breadth was nearly even, with 1,947 stocks advancing, 1,912 declining, and 154 remaining unchanged.

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