Mumbai: The Sensex and Nifty opened higher on Wednesday as IT stocks gained and Asian markets traded in the green. Both benchmark indices rose close to 1% in early trade.
The Sensex climbed 695 points, or 0.94 per cent, to 74,548.69. It had closed at 73,852.90 in the previous session.
The Nifty also moved up, gaining nearly 200 points, or 0.86%, to 23,086.95. Its previous close was 22,888.95.
At the opening bell, the Sensex was up 485.03 points at 74,337.93. The Nifty opened 127.05 points higher at 23,016.
IT and Banking Stocks Gain
IT stocks led the gains in early trade. Nifty IT, Nifty PSU Bank, Nifty Cement, Nifty MidSmall IT & Telecom, and Nifty Oil & Gas rose by up to 1.97 per cent.
Nifty Media and Nifty Chemicals were among the sectors trading lower.
Market experts said high Brent crude prices and US bond yields could keep the market under pressure in the near term. They expect investors to continue booking profits when share prices rise.
However, improving company earnings, reasonable valuations of large-cap stocks and steady domestic investment could support the market during declines.
IT and banking stocks are also drawing interest after posting a strong performance in the second quarter. Experts expect domestic institutional investors to buy more shares in these sectors when prices fall.
Global Markets Offer Support
Asian shares traded higher after gains in US stock futures. Strong earnings from major companies linked to artificial intelligence renewed interest in technology stocks.
The second-quarter earnings season has started on a positive note. Experts expect company results to play a bigger role in stock movements in the coming weeks.
In the previous trading session on October 19, foreign institutional investors sold shares worth around Rs 1,148 crore. Domestic institutional investors, however, bought equities worth approximately Rs 3,200 crore.
The difference in buying and selling activity shows that domestic investors continue to provide support even as foreign investors pull money out of the market.