Indian Market Opens Higher as Nifty, Sensex Extend Gains
Indian benchmark indices opened higher on Friday, continuing the positive momentum for the third consecutive day this week. The Nifty Bank, auto, FMCG, and IT sectors led the early morning gains.
In early trade, the Nifty rose 0.31% to 23,277, while the 30-stock Sensex advanced by 0.31% to 76,765. Seven out of the 12 sectors on the NSE moved higher, with the Nifty Metal and Nifty Oil & Gas indices gaining the most.
Despite the gains in the broader market, the BSE MidCap index slipped by 0.12%, and the SmallCap index fell by 0.20%.
Key contributors to the Nifty 50’s upward movement included ICICI Bank, Bharti Airtel, Infosys, and PowerGrid. On the other hand, stocks such as Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, Apollo Hospitals Enterprise, Maruti Suzuki, and Kotak Mahindra Bank weighed on the benchmark index.
Market experts attributed the positive sentiment to the strength in the US market, with the S&P 500 setting a new record high, while the 10-year US bond yield remained strong at 4.65%. These global factors are expected to continue impacting Indian markets.
The quarterly results of IT companies and their positive outlook for the sector suggest it remains a safer bet in the current market conditions.
Among sectoral indices, Nifty Oil & Gas was the top gainer, up by 1%, followed by Nifty Metal and Realty, which gained 0.9% and 0.6%, respectively. Nifty Pharma was the top loser, declining by 1.6%.
Experts suggest that after a positive opening, Nifty may find support at 23,100, followed by 23,000 and 22,800. On the upside, 23,300 could act as immediate resistance, with 23,400 and 23,500 being the next levels to watch.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) remained net sellers for the 15th consecutive day, selling equities worth Rs 5,462.52 crore on January 23. Meanwhile, Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) bought equities worth Rs 3,712 crore on the same day.
Given the ongoing volatility, traders are advised to exercise caution, implement strict stop-loss strategies, and avoid carrying long positions overnight unless the Nifty index sustains above the 23,500 mark, according to Hardik Matalia from Choice Broking.
Meanwhile, the Indian rupee opened 14 paise higher at 86.33 per dollar on Friday.
