Market opening: NIFTY50 near 26,100, SENSEX rises 162 points as large-cap stocks rally; Adani Enterprises, Reliance Industries top gainers

The Indian stock market opened higher on Thursday, November 20, supported by positive global cues, strong large-cap buying, and foreign fund inflows that boosted investor sentiment.

Among sectors, Nifty Auto (0.43%), Nifty Metal (0.4%), Nifty Oil and Gas (0.35%), Nifty FMCG (0.23%) and Nifty Consumer Durables (0.04%) were the top performers. However, Nifty Media (-0.34%), Nifty Realty (-0.14%), and Nifty IT were among the top losers.

The broader market was also seen in green in the early session, with the Nifty Midcap 100 and the Nifty Smallcap 100 gaining 0.41% and 0.31%, respectively.

According to exchange data, on Wednesday, the foreign institutional investors (FIIs) purchased shares worth ₹1,580.72 crore, while the domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought equities worth ₹1,360.27 crore on a net basis.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading higher, led by strong gains in chipmakers after Nvidia’s robust earnings helped ease concerns about an AI-sector bubble.

South Korea's KOSPI and Japan's Nikkei soared 3.13% and 3.07%, respectively. The Shanghai Composite gained 0.38%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng was up 0.19%.

On Wall Street, after a volatile session, US stocks ended higher on Wednesday. The S&P 500 rose 0.38%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 0.1%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq rose 0.59%.

As many as 2,720 stocks traded on the NSE during the early session, among which 1,472 advanced, 1,155 declined, and 93 shares remained unchanged.

This indicates that the market's breadth is favourable towards advances.

Meanwhile, 51 stocks hit their one-year highs in the early trade, while 44 stocks touched their 52-week lows.

Further, 36 stocks hit their upper circuits, while 22 hit their lower circuits.

India VIX, the volatility gauge, was trading at 11.85 levels, rising 1.02%.

As many as 34 stocks advanced, while 15 declined and one remained unchanged in the opening session on the NIFTY50 index.

Adani Enterprises was the most contributing stock, climbing 1.21%, followed by Reliance Industries (0.98%), Axis Bank (0.96%), Adani Ports (0.8%) and Mahindra & Mahindra (0.61%).

On the flip side, HDFC Life Insurance (-0.97%), Max Healthcare (-0.79%), Dr Reddy’s Laboratories (-0.61%), HCL Technologies (-0.6%) and ONGC (-0.52%) were the top laggards on the 50-share index.