NIFTY50 opens above 24,200, SENSEX soars 1,310 pts amid positive global cues; IndiGo top gainer

The Indian equity market opened on a positive note on Monday, April 15, supported by upbeat global cues from other Asian peers, with gains led by PSU banks, consumer durables, and IT stocks.

Investors turned confident as talks to end the Iran war could resume over the next two days, US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday, after the collapse of weekend negotiations prompted Washington to impose a blockade on Iranian ports.

The broader market also opened in green as both the Nifty Midcap 100 and the Nifty Smallcap 100 surged 2.23% and 2.14%, respectively.

All the sectoral indices were trading with gains, with Nifty PSU Bank taking the lead, rising 2.63%, followed by Nifty Consumer Durables (2.33%), Nifty Metal (2.31%), Nifty Oil & Gas (1.71%) and Nifty Private Bank (1.66%).

According to exchange data, on Tuesday, the foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold equities worth ₹1,983.18 crore, while the domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought equities worth ₹2,432.30 crore on a net basis.

Globally, markets in Asia were trading sharply higher on Wednesday as crude oil prices dropped below $100 per barrel after reports suggested that the United States and Iran could resume talks to end the war.

Japan's Nikkei advanced 0.5%, China's Shanghai Composite gained 0.43%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 1% and South Korea's KOSPI surged 3%.

On Wall Street, the US stocks ended near record highs on Tuesday on hopes that the United States and Iran may try again with talks to end their war and avoid a worst-case scenario for the global economy, news agency AP reported.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.66%, the S&P 500 index gained 1.18% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq climbed 1.96%.

Market statistics

As many as 2,815 stocks traded on the NSE during the early session, among which 2,596 advanced, 155 declined, and 64 shares remained unchanged.

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

Meanwhile, 74 stocks hit their one-year highs in the early trade, while only 5 stocks touched their 52-week lows.

Further, 72 stocks hit their upper circuits, while 10 hit their lower circuits.

India VIX, the volatility gauge, was trading at 18.28 levels, declining 10.82%.

Top gainers and losers

As many as 47 stocks advanced, while only 3 were trading lower in the opening session on the NIFTY50 index.

IndiGo operator InterGlobe Aviation (4.08%) was the most contributing stock, climbing 4.08%, followed by Hindalco Industries and Shriram Finance, each rising 3.79%. Infosys (3.15%) and HCL Technologies were the other top gainers.

Meanwhile, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories (-2.7%), ONGC (-0.42%) and Coal India (-0.11%) were the only losers on the 50-share index.