Sensex Jumps 260 Points At Opening Bell, Metal and Realty Stocks Power Dalal Street Rally

Indian stock markets kicked off the trading week on a bullish note on Friday, buoyed by favorable international signals and buying interest in metal, real estate, and cement equities. The BSE Sensex kicked off at 74,575.24, surging 260 points or 0.35%. The NSE Nifty 50 also rallied 64 points or 0.28% to 23,334.70 in early trade.

Metal shares led the Nifty's ascension, marking the strongest sectoral index with a 0.76% gain. Nifty Realty also enjoyed a 0.74% uptick, while cement and media indices climbed 0.55% and 0.47%, respectively. The Sensex concluded the day flat, while the Nifty edged up 0.23%.

Investors continued to dissect Federal Reserve policy clues as they navigated the market. Healthcare, banking, automotive, pharmaceutical, energy, and FMCG stocks also showed strength during the session. However, IT, Midcap IT, and Telecom indices lagged, with Nifty IT plunging over 1% and the Midcap IT and Telecom index slipping 0.40%.

Among the notable decliners, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles, TCS, Infosys, Tech Mahindra, and HCL Technologies witnessed significant losses, each falling up to 3%. Analysts noted that the broader market structure remained frail, although the Relative Strength Index reading of 29.95 suggested oversold conditions. Immediate support for Nifty was pegged between 23,000 and 23,150, with resistance expected in the 23,350–23,450 range. A clear breakout could bolster the recovery, while a dip below support may prolong the correction.

Foreign institutional investors offloaded Indian shares worth ₹3,208 crore on Thursday, while domestic institutional investors offset the outflow by investing ₹3,617 crore. Wall Street concluded the prior trading session higher, with the S&P 500 gaining 1.14% and the Nasdaq rising 1.69%. Asian markets followed suit, as Japan's Nikkei climbed nearly 2% and South Korea's KOSPI surged over 2%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng also saw a near 1% increase.

Brent crude slipped 1% to $103.61 per barrel, and US West Texas Intermediate crude declined 0.77% to around $101, easing some worries about India's oil-import dependent economy.