Indian equity markets witnessed a strong rally on Friday, with the BSE Sensex climbing more than 700 points and the NSE Nifty reclaiming the crucial 24,000 mark, buoyed by positive global cues, strong corporate earnings, and broad-based buying across sectors.
The Sensex opened at 77,395.63 and touched an intraday high of 77,526.85, compared with its previous close of 76,741.82. Meanwhile, the Nifty opened at 24,124.70 against Thursday's close of 23,962.80.
At the time of reporting, the Sensex was trading at 77,441.52, up 699.70 points or 0.91 per cent, while the Nifty stood at 24,161.60, gaining 198.80 points or 0.83 per cent.
All sectoral indices traded in positive territory, with Nifty IT emerging as the top performer, rising over 2 per cent. The Nifty MidSmall IT & Telecom index also posted healthy gains during early trade.
Among the major gainers were Tech Mahindra, TCS, Infosys, HCL Tech, IndiGo, ICICI Bank, Reliance Industries, Asian Paints, BEL, Mahindra & Mahindra, Maruti Suzuki, HDFC Bank, Eternal and Kotak Mahindra Bank. Bharti Airtel and Sun Pharma were among the few stocks trading lower.
In the commodities market, gold prices edged higher as the US dollar weakened, although the precious metal remained on track for a weekly decline amid concerns over inflation and expectations of a hawkish US Federal Reserve. Brent crude traded around USD 76.57 per barrel.
Market experts attributed the rally to positive momentum from Wall Street and gains across Asian markets. Banking and market expert Ajay Bagga said investor sentiment remained strong due to healthy institutional liquidity, while analyst Vipin Dixena noted that Nifty needs to sustain above the 24,200–24,300 range to confirm a stronger recovery.
