Sensex Opens Over 400 Points Higher as IT Stocks Rally; Nifty Reclaims 22,700

The BSE Sensex opened at 73,665.64, gaining more than 400 points, or 0.57 per cent. The NSE Nifty 50 began trading at 22,742.20, up 54.55 points, or 0.24 per cent.

IT stocks lead early gains

Information technology stocks drove the early market recovery, with the Nifty IT index rising nearly 3 per cent in morning trade. The Nifty MidSmall IT & Telecom index advanced around 1 per cent.

The Nifty Pharma and Nifty Healthcare indices also traded marginally higher.

However, selling pressure persisted in several other sectors. The Nifty Metal, Nifty Realty and Nifty MidSmall Financial Services indices declined by up to 1 per cent.

Crude oil and liquidity remain in focus

Market analysts identified elevated crude oil prices as a key concern for the domestic economy and equity markets, with Brent crude climbing to $114 per barrel.

They said a sharp decline in the US 10-year Treasury yield to 4.96 per cent and an appreciation of the rupee to 94.70 against the US dollar could help limit selling by foreign institutional investors (FIIs).

Analysts also pointed to the potential return of liquidity following allotment in the Jio Platform initial public offering (IPO). Of the ₹3.73 lakh crore that entered the IPO over the preceding two days, more than ₹3 lakh crore was expected to return to the financial system by the following Monday, potentially supporting equities in the coming week.

Nifty support and resistance levels

Technical indicators pointed to a cautious outlook. The Nifty's Relative Strength Index (RSI) stood at 43.98, above its average of 38.86, while the put-call ratio (PCR) eased to 0.82.

Analysts placed immediate support for the Nifty in the 22,600–22,650 range, with resistance expected between 22,900 and 23,000.

Foreign investors continue selling

Provisional institutional investment figures for Thursday showed that FIIs remained net sellers, offloading equities worth ₹3,459 crore. Domestic institutional investors (DIIs), meanwhile, provided support through net purchases of ₹2,891 crore.

Global market cues remained weak. In the United States, the Nasdaq Composite fell 2.6 per cent on Thursday amid a technology sell-off linked to artificial intelligence-related stocks.

Asian markets also opened lower on Friday, with Japan's Nikkei declining around 1.7 per cent.

Investors are likely to track crude oil prices, foreign fund flows, currency movements and the return of IPO-related liquidity for further direction as trading progresses.