Sensex Today: Indian stock markets opened on a strong note Friday, tracking positive global sentiment after the US paused tariff hikes for most countries, excluding China, which now faces a steep 145% tariff.
The BSE Sensex jumped 997.42 points or 1.35% to 74,844.57, while the Nifty 50 rose 359.85 points or 1.61% to 22,759 at the opening bell.
According to Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Equity Research at Kotak Securities, 22,350/73,650 will act as key support levels, while 22,500/74,200 could serve as breakout points for bulls. A breach below support may push indices toward 22,200/73,000, while a move above resistance could lead to 22,700/74,700.
In terms of top gainers, Mahindra & Mahindra, HDFC Bank, Bajaj Finserv, L&T, and Axis Bank led the Sensex rally, while Nifty gainers included Mahindra & Mahindra, HDFC Bank, Bajaj Auto, Grasim Industries, and L&T.
Among sectoral indices, Nifty Auto, Bank, and Financial Services outperformed, each rising over 2%, while FMCG and IT sectors saw relatively muted gains.
In the broader markets, both the Nifty Midcap 100 and Smallcap 100 indices advanced over 1%, indicating strong participation beyond frontline stocks.
Global Cues
On Wednesday, US markets witnessed a sharp rally after former President Donald Trump announced a 90-day suspension of reciprocal tariffs on up to 75 countries, potentially including India. The Dow Jones surged over 3,000 points in a single session—its biggest single-day gain since 2008.
However, that optimism was short-lived, as US equities reversed course on Thursday. The Dow Jones fell more than 1,000 points, giving up roughly one-third of the previous day’s gains.
However, the US move to hike total duties on China to 145 per cent, while making notable exceptions like copper, pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, and energy products, among others, has kept global markets jittery, with Asia-Pacific markets trading lower.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 was down 4.55 per cent, South Korea’s Kospi was down 1.66 per cent, and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 wwas lower by 1.93 per cent.
Markets in the Asia Pacific region were tracking the overnight weakness on Wall Street, with US stock futures sliding on Thursday night, after the lower close in the previous session on Wall Street.
