Indian equity markets opened higher on Friday, the final trading session of the week, with the BSE Sensex rising more than 300 points in early trade and the NSE Nifty also posting gains.
The BSE Sensex advanced about 333 points, or 0.44%, to around 75,516 shortly after the opening bell, while the NSE Nifty traded near 23,737, up approximately 83 points. Market breadth remained positive, indicating that advancing stocks outnumbered declining shares in early trade.
Banking stocks provided key support to the market, with the Nifty Bank index rising about 0.42% during early trading. Buying interest was seen in major private sector banking stocks, including HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank, contributing to the broader market gains.
Several frontline stocks recorded notable activity in early trade. Gainers included SBI Life Insurance, Bajaj Finserv, Adani Enterprises and Maruti Suzuki.
Among laggards, Max Healthcare declined by more than 4%, while weakness was also seen in major information technology stocks including Infosys, TCS and Tech Mahindra.
Sector-wise, banking and financial stocks supported market gains, while selling pressure persisted in information technology and real estate stocks. The Nifty Realty index declined about 0.65%, while the Nifty IT index traded weak in early trade. Analysts attributed pressure on Indian IT companies to continued uncertainty in the global technology sector and mixed signals from US markets.
