The Indian stock market commenced trading on Friday with significant gains, primarily propelled by a strong performance in IT sector stocks. The benchmark Sensex climbed 393 points to reach 77,896, while the Nifty 50 index advanced 150 points, settling at 24,325 in early deals.
Top Performers and Market Movers
Among the Sensex constituents, technology giants HCL Tech, Tech Mahindra, and Infosys, along with steel major Tata Steel and IT services firm TCS, emerged as the top gainers, with their shares rising by up to 4% during the initial hours of trading. Conversely, some heavyweights saw minor declines, with Adani Ports, NTPC, M&M, SBI, and Kotak Bank registering losses of up to 0.67%.
Global Factors Fueling the Rally
The positive sentiment in the Indian stock market was largely attributed to a drop in crude oil prices, which fell below $70 per barrel. This decline was spurred by renewed hopes of "positive progress" in ongoing talks between the United States and Iran, suggesting a potential increase in global oil supply.
VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments, commented on the market dynamics, stating, "Banking stocks have the fundamental strength to sustain the rally in Bank Nifty. The IT stocks are witnessing an uptrend triggered by low valuations. But the sector has no fundamental strength to sustain the rally."
Echoing the cautious optimism, Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Equity Research at Kotak Securities, provided technical insights for day traders. He identified 24,075/77,200 as key support zones for the Nifty and Sensex, respectively. Above these levels, the market could extend its positive momentum towards 24,250-24,375 for Nifty and 77,800-78,200 for Sensex. However, a breach below these support levels could signal a negative shift, potentially leading to a retest of 23,980-23,900/76,900-76,500.
Previous Session's Performance
In the preceding session, the Sensex had closed 579.48 points (0.75%) higher at 77,502.12, while the Nifty50 index gained 169.85 points (0.71%) to end at 24,175.70. The broader market also closed in positive territory, with the Nifty Midcap100 rising 0.48% and the Nifty Smallcap100 advancing 1.25%.