In the afternoon trade by 1 PM, Indian equity markets saw a strong rally, driven by broad-based buying across sectors. The BSE Sensex surged 900 points to 82,261.39, gaining 1.11%, while the NSE Nifty crossed the mark of 25,000, rising 269.95 points to reach 25,063.20, up 1.09%.
Indian equity indices opened Friday’s trading session on a muted note with positive bias and later picked up the pace, shrugging off tensions in West Asia. The NSE Nifty 50 was up 200 points or 0.85% higher to trade around 25,000, while the BSE Sensex jumped 700 points, or 0.85%, higher at 82,000.
In line with the overall markets, Bank Nifty opened 87 points or 0.16% higher at 55,665. The Nifty Midcap 100 opened 133 points or 0.23% higher at 57,292.
“Nifty, which has been trading within the 24,500-25,000 range for about a month now, is likely to remain within this range in the near term. The upper side of the range will be broken only on news of de-escalation of the Israel-Iran conflict or an abrupt end to the war. There is uncertainty on this. The lower side of the range is unlikely to break since big buying, particularly by domestic institutions, will emerge on dips,” said VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments.
If the war lingers and crude rises beyond $85 the lower band of the range will be broken, added Vijayakumar.
“While markets may see a steady opening with a positive bias, investors are likely to be in a wait-and-watch mode amidst escalating Middle East conflicts. Bulls have been working hard to float above the dotted lines for the past 3 trading days, but towards close on an uninspiring note,” said Prashanth Tapse, Senior Vice President of Research at Mehta Equities.
Here are key highlights from the early session-
Top performers leading the charge
Among the top gainers on the Nifty 50 were Jio Financial Services, Bajaj Finserv, Trent, Adani Enterprises, and Shriram Finance. The top movers in the Nifty 50 were HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, Infosys, and State Bank of India as soon as markets opened.
Stocks in the red
The stocks that remained under pressure included Hero MotoCorp, Bajaj Finance, IndusInd Bank, Tech Mahindra, and ONGC were the laggards in the morning trade.
Iran – Israel conflict
The Israel-Iran conflict has entered its eighth day with tensions intensifying on both sides. Thursday saw a sharp escalation as Israel targeted Iran’s Arak heavy water reactor, one of its key nuclear facilities just hours after issuing evacuation alerts. In retaliation, Iran launched multiple missiles, one of which struck Soroka Medical Center, the largest hospital in southern Israel, reportedly causing significant damage.