Indian equity benchmarks opened sharply higher on Friday, the final trading session of the week, with broad-based buying lifting the benchmark indices at the opening bell.
The BSE Sensex opened at 77,395.63, up 653.81 points or 0.85%, while the NSE Nifty 50 started trading at 24,124.70, gaining 161.90 points or 0.68%.
Most frontline stocks traded in positive territory during early trade, reflecting broad market strength.
Of the 30 Sensex constituents, 28 opened with gains. UltraTech Cement was the only stock to trade marginally lower, while Adani Ports opened nearly unchanged.
Among the 50 constituents of the Nifty 50, 47 stocks advanced at the opening, with only three stocks trading lower in early deals, indicating buying interest across most sectors.
Information technology stocks emerged as the biggest contributors to the market's early gains.
Infosys was among the top performers, rising approximately 3.17% in early trade. Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) also opened about 3.04% higher. Buying in IT stocks provided significant support to the benchmark indices during the opening session.
Apart from IT companies, several large-cap stocks also recorded gains in early trading.
Tech Mahindra, Trent, Mahindra & Mahindra, IndiGo, Reliance Industries, Tata Steel, Bajaj Finserv, Bajaj Finance and Asian Paints traded with gains of 1% or more.
Shares of Larsen & Toubro (L&T), Titan, State Bank of India (SBI), Power Grid, Maruti Suzuki, ITC, NTPC, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Hindustan Unilever, Bharat Electronics (BEL), Sun Pharma, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Axis Bank also traded in positive territory during the opening session.
While buying was visible across most sectors, a few stocks opened marginally lower. UltraTech Cement was the weakest Sensex constituent in early trade. A small number of other stocks also registered modest declines, although they had no significant impact on the overall market trend. Overall, market gains remained broad-based across sectors.
