Sensex, Nifty jump at Open; media, IT, real estate shine

The stock market surged at the opening on Thursday, March 20, marking its fourth straight day in the green. Media, IT, and real estate stocks led the gains.

At 9:15 AM, the BSE Sensex jumped 362.05 points (0.48%) to 75,811.10. The NSE Nifty climbed 97.85 points (0.43%) to 23,005.45.

Bharti Airtel gained the most among Sensex stocks, rising 1.75% to ₹1,665.25. Mahindra & Mahindra followed, increasing 1.56% to ₹2,829.65. Zomato added 1.41%, trading at ₹226.60.

Only three Sensex stocks declined. Bajaj Finance dropped 0.30% to ₹8,711.05, Sun Pharma slipped 0.08% to ₹1,732, and UltraTech Cement edged down 0.02% to ₹10,933.

Nifty sectoral indices saw Media Index rise the most at 1.55% to 1,519.40. Nifty IT gained 0.67% to 36,467.40, and Nifty Realty added 0.64% to 850.75. Nifty Consumer Durables was the only index in the red, falling 0.23% to 36,034.80.

On Tuesday, March 18, the market closed in positive territory for the second straight session. The Sensex ended 147.79 points (0.20%) higher at 75,449.05. The Nifty climbed 73.30 points (0.32%) to 22,907.60.

“Nifty has closed positive for three sessions, forming a higher high-higher low pattern, signaling bullish momentum,” said Kunal Kamble, Senior Technical Research Analyst at Bonanza. He expects the index to touch 23,050, with a target of 23,200. He placed support levels at 22,700 and 22,500, maintaining a positive outlook.

Tata Steel led the Sensex gainers, rising 2.52% to ₹158.55. Zomato followed with a 2.34% increase to ₹223.45, while Power Grid Corporation climbed 2.27% to ₹276.95. Zomato had surged the most on Tuesday, jumping 7.11% to close at ₹218.35.

Thirteen of the 30 Sensex stocks ended in the red.

Among Nifty sectoral indices, Midsmall Financial Services led with a 3.17% gain to 14,385.50. Nifty Realty rose 2.80% to 845.35, and Midsmall Healthcare advanced 2.11% to 39,765.65. On Tuesday, the Midsmall Financial Services Index had climbed 3.14% to 13,944.05, while Realty had risen 3.16% to 822.30.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) turned net sellers, offloading equities worth ₹1,096.50 crore. Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) remained net buyers, acquiring a difference of ₹2,140.76 crore in equities. On Tuesday, FIIs were net buyers of ₹694.57 crore in equities.