Market opening: SENSEX jumps 1,027 pts, NIFTY50 at 22,842 on strong global cues; Shriram Finance, Asian Paints top gainers

The Indian stock market opened on a positive note on Tuesday, March 24, supported by upbeat global cues and easing geopolitical tensions.

US President Donald Trump on Monday said Washington was in talks with an Iranian leader and claimed that Tehran was keen to strike a deal to end the war. He also extended the deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, warning that it now has five more days to comply or face potential attacks on its power infrastructure, according to an AP report.

The broader market also opened in green as both the Nifty Midcap 100 and the Nifty Smallcap 100 surged 1.62% and 1.44%, respectively.

Among sectors, all the gauges opened in green, with Nifty PSU Bank (2.19%) taking the lead, followed by Nifty Auto (1.93%) and Nifty Metal (1.54%).

According to exchange data, on Friday, the foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold equities worth ₹10,414.23 crore, while the domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought equities worth ₹12,033.97 crore on a net basis.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading higher following a strong closing of US stocks overnight as Trump's comments on Truth Social signalled that tensions in the Middle East might be over soon.

Japan's Nikkei rose 0.8%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng advanced 1.61%, China's Shanghai Composite gained 0.95% and South Korea's KOSPI advanced 2.4%.

On Wall Street, the US stocks ended sharply higher after Trump's comment fuelled a rally on hopes that a solution to the tensions in the Middle East might come earlier than it was previously anticipated. 

The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 1.38%, the S&P 500 index gained 1.15%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq rose 1.4%.

Market statistics

As many as 2,803 stocks traded on the NSE during the early session, among which 2,495 advanced, 243 declined, and 65 shares remained unchanged.

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

Meanwhile, 8 stocks hit their one-year highs in the early trade, while 74 stocks touched their 52-week lows.

Further, 33 stocks hit their upper circuits, while 29 hit their lower circuits.

India VIX, the volatility gauge, was trading at 25.12 levels, declining 6.01%.

Top gainers and losers

As many as 48 stocks advanced, while 2 were trading lower in the opening session on the NIFTY50 index.

Shriram Finance was the biggest gainer, rising 3.99%, followed by Asian Paints (3.38%), Eicher Motors (3.17%), InterGlobe Aviation (2.98%) and Titan Company (2.45%).

On the other hand, Power Grid (-1.41%) and Coal India (-0.47%) were the only draggers on the 50-share index.