Mumbai, India, July 3: Indian benchmark equity indices opened higher on Friday, with the Sensex gaining more than 500 points and the Nifty crossing the 24,300 mark, supported by weak US labour market data that raised expectations of a softer monetary policy by the US Federal Reserve and lower crude oil prices.
The Sensex opened at 78,152.34 against its previous close of 77,502.12, while the Nifty started the session at 24,375.65 compared to Thursday’s close of 24,175.70. At the time of filing this report, the Sensex was trading at 77,862.28, up 360.16 points or 0.46 per cent, while the Nifty stood at 24,307.95, higher by 132.25 points or 0.55 per cent.
Investor sentiment improved after US labour market data showed employers added 57,000 jobs last month, lower than the market estimate of 100,000. The data strengthened expectations that the US Federal Reserve may adopt a more accommodative monetary policy in the coming months.
Banking and market expert Ajay Bagga said the weaker-than-expected US employment data had altered market expectations regarding the interest rate outlook. He noted that while broader US equities gained following the data, technology stocks came under pressure.
Asian markets traded mixed during the session, while lower crude oil prices and a weaker US dollar supported risk assets.
On the domestic front, crude oil prices remained around USD 71-72 per barrel, providing support to the Indian market, as the country is a major importer of crude oil.
Bagga said easing crude oil prices, a softer US dollar index, a pause in US rate-hike expectations and strong quarterly operational updates from domestic financial companies contributed to positive market sentiment.
Among the major gainers in early trade were Tech Mahindra, HCL Technologies, TCS, Infosys, Asian Paints, HDFC Bank, Larsen & Toubro, Bajaj Finance, BEL, Trent and Power Grid. NTPC, Kotak Mahindra Bank, State Bank of India and Axis Bank were among the stocks trading lower.
Sector-wise, the Nifty IT index gained more than 2 per cent for the second consecutive session, while the Nifty Metal and Nifty MidSmall IT & Telecom indices rose over 1 per cent each. Most other sectoral indices also traded in positive territory.
In the commodities market, gold prices rose more than 1 per cent and were on course for their first weekly gain in five weeks following the weak US jobs data. Spot gold traded at USD 4,179.94 per ounce during the session. Crude oil prices remained around USD 72 per barrel, supporting sentiment across emerging markets, including India.