Nifty starts steady near 25,200, helped by rally in Auto shares on festive demand

markets

Benchmark indices opened higher on September 23, supported by strong buying in auto shares following signs of strong festive demand, with gains on Nifty 50 led by Maruti Suzuki and M&M, which were higher by 2.7 percent and 2 percent respectively.

At 9:20 am, the Sensex rose 105 points, or 0.13 percent, to 82,266.53, while the Nifty inched up 13 points, or 0.06 percent, to 25,218.

The Nifty Auto index emerged as the top sectoral gainer with a 1.4 percent rise, followed by a quiet start for Nifty IT index. The Nifty Realty and PSU Bank indices slipped 0.3 percent each, keeping the gains under check.

Several market experts have said that the sentiment still remains cautiously optimistic, though a persistent volatility and mixed global cues continue to weigh on investor confidence, suggesting a 'buy on dips' strategy for traders while booking partial profit on rallies.

Fresh long positions should be considered only if the Nifty sustains above 25,500, technical experts said.

Across Asia, stocks were modestly higher after Wall Street notched fresh record on the back of renewed optimism around big tech companies. Japanese share market us shut for a public holiday.

Benchmarks in Australia and South Korea advanced, while Hong Kong equity-index futures remained flat as the city braced for its most severe typhoon since 2018.

On Wall Street, the S&P 500 marked its 28th record of the year, lifted by a nearly 4 percent surge in Nvidia after the chipmaker pledged to invest up to $100 billion in OpenAI. The dollar index was steady after a sharp drop in the previous session, while gold held near its record high.

This is being updated