Nifty nears 24,300, Sensex soars 850 points as Reliance Industries, ICICI Bank contribute to gains

Nifty has an immediate support at the psychological level of 24,000.

Domestic benchmarks Nifty 50 and Sensex shrugged off two sessions of losses to open in the green on April 28, driven by sustained buying from foreign institutional investors.

At 10:19 am, the Sensex was up 840.65 points or 1.06 percent at 80,053.18, and the Nifty was up 236.55 points or 0.98 percent at 24,275.90. About 1744 shares advanced, 1398 shares declined, and 176 shares unchanged.

On the broader markets front, the Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 indices underperformed the benchmarks, with the smallcap index trading flat, while the midcap gauge managed to eke out gains of 0.15 percent.

Sectorally, auto and pharma stocks outperformed, with the Nifty Auto index zooming half a percent, while the pharma index shot up 0.7 percent in the early session.

Shares of diversified conglomerate Reliance Industries Ltd.'s were the top gainer on the Nifty 50 index, after the Mukesh Ambani-led firm reported a higher-than-expected earnings show for the fiscal quarter ended March. The shares were quoting Rs 1,350.5, higher by 3.9 percent on the NSE.

Reliance Industries' strong rally contributed almost 200 points to Nifty 50, while ICICI Bank's two percent jump added nearly 100 points to the index. However, Shriram Finance and HCL Technologies capped the gains.

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FIIs turn buyers

The major factor contributing to the resilience of the market is the sustained buying by Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) which has amounted to Rs 32,465 crores in the last eight days. In the last session, FIIs bought equities worth Rs 2,952 crore, while Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs), after three sessions of net selling, turned net buyers with inflows of Rs 3,539 crore.

"FIIs have turned sustained buyers in a dramatic reversal of their sustained selling strategy. This, in turn, is due to the relative under performance of US stocks, US bonds and dollar. In an environment of weakening US economy and depreciating dollar FIIs may continue to buy providing support to the market," said  VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments.

Wall Street gains

Wall Street advanced on Friday, notching weekly gains as investors parsed a spate of earnings and looked for signs of easing tensions in the U.S.-China trade dispute. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.05 percent, the S&P 500 gained 0.7 percent and the Nasdaq Composite gained 1.26 percent.

Technical levels to watch

The heightened geopolitical uncertainty has led investors to adopt a risk-off approach, triggering profit-booking after the recent sharp rally. Furthermore, the markets appeared slightly overstretched following the vertical rise, prompting traders to reduce exposure, noted Rajesh Bhosale, Equity Technical Analyst, Angel One.

Technically, Nifty now has immediate support at the psychological level of 24,000, followed by deeper cushions at 23,800 and 23,600. "On the upside, resistance is placed at 24,300, then 24,400 and 24,600. A breakout above 24,600 could trigger a rally toward 25,200 in the coming days. However, the formation of neutral candles in the last few sessions indicates indecision, often a precursor to either consolidation or a mild pullback," said Mandar Bhojane, Research Analyst, Choice Broking.

Strategy for investors

Experts suggested the sustained institutional interest, despite macro uncertainties, could provide a cushion for the market and support any upward moves in the sessions ahead. Bhosale added that traders should stay cautious and monitor these key levels, as the next leg of the move may not be as smooth as the recent rally.

Maintaining adequate liquidity is vital. This allows flexibility to either capitalise on distressed asset opportunities that may arise during turmoil or to navigate adverse market conditions effectively, providing a buffer against unforeseen eventualities, added Devarsh Vakil, Head of Prime Research, HDFC Securities.

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