Sensex, Nifty snap losing streak on strong IT stocks

Indian equity markets opened sharply higher on Friday, snapping their recent losing streak, as strong buying in information technology stocks—led by Infosys—boosted investor sentiment following the company’s better-than-expected quarterly results and an upgraded revenue outlook, as per reports.

At around 10.30 am, the S&P BSE Sensex was trading 709.60 points higher at 84,092.31, while the NSE Nifty50 rose 195.50 points to 25,861.10. Both benchmark indices gained close to 1% in early trade, supported mainly by IT stocks and selective buying in banking and automobile shares after several sessions of decline.

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Analysts said the markets lack major triggers for a directional move. A US Supreme Court ruling that could have caused global market volatility didn't happen, and since there's no timeline, it's unlikely to affect the market soon, they added.

The market is likely to respond to the major Q3 results in India. Better-than-expected results will trigger stock-specific action but won't cause a broad based rally in the market.

Minor rallies are likely to be neutralised by FII selling, evident by their increasing short positions which indicate sustained FII selling likely to be the near-term trend, they added.

Immediate support lies at 25,500–25,550 zone, while resistance remained at 25,800–25,900 zone, market watchers said.

Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed during the morning session even as Asian chip stocks advanced causing a rally in several regional markets.

In Asian markets, China's Shanghai index eased 0.02 per cent, and Shenzhen gained 0.09 per cent, Japan's Nikkei declined 0.44 per cent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index lost 0.15 per cent. South Korea's Kospi advanced 1.13 per cent.

The US markets ended mostly in the green overnight as Nasdaq added 0.25 per cent. The S&P 500 advanced 0.26 per cent, and the Dow moved up 0.6 per cent.

On January 14, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold net equities worth Rs 4,781 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net buyers of equities worth Rs 5,217 crore.