Sensex Opens Over 400 Points Higher And Nifty Gains 100 Points, PSU Bank Stocks Lead Rally

markets opened strongly higher on Monday, buoyed by gains across Asian markets after the US released softer-than-expected jobs data, which reduced prospects of an immediate Federal Reserve rate hike.

The Nifty index opened at 22,532.40, rising by over 100 points or 0.49 per cent.

Similarly, the Sensex started the session up more than 400 points, or 0.6 per cent, at 72,340.95.

Market breadth was positive with most sectoral indices trading in green during early deals. Nifty PSU Bank, Nifty Media, and Nifty Metal indices gained up to 1 per cent.

Nifty Realty rose 0.93 per cent, while Nifty Chemicals, Nifty FMCG, and Nifty Oil & Gas advanced between 0.8 and 0.85 per cent.

Other indices like Nifty Private Bank and Nifty Consumer Durables were also higher, while Nifty IT, Nifty Auto, and Nifty Pharma traded flat.

Healthcare stocks were marginally down as both the Nifty 500 Healthcare and Nifty Healthcare indices slipped 0.07 per cent and 0.12 per cent respectively.

Market analysts noted a likely near-term rebound after eight consecutive weeks of declines.

Despite the upswing, they warned that elevated crude prices, high US bond yields, and ongoing foreign institutional investor selling posed challenges.

"Valuations have become attractive, especially for large-cap stocks," experts said, adding that the market is better positioned to handle current headwinds.

Positive automobile sales data for September also indicate resilience in the domestic economy, according to analysts.

Reserve Bank of India is widely expected to increase its policy rate by 25 basis points on Wednesday, a move that appears already priced into the market.

Banks are expected to gain from the rate hike as higher floating lending rates may boost their margins.

In the previous trading session, foreign institutional investors recorded net outflows of Rs 9,484crore, while domestic institutional investors supported the market with net purchases of Rs 10,041 crore.

Crude oil prices eased as Brent crude traded nearly 1 per cent lower at $101.27 per barrel.