Sensex opens 500 points higher, Nifty above 23,500; IndiGo up 3%

Stock markets opened higher for the second consecutive session on Tuesday, extending Monday's sharp rally as buying continued across several heavyweight stocks. The Sensex jumped nearly 700 points in early trade, while the Nifty moved above the 23,600 mark.The BSE Sensex was trading at 76,400.68, up 707.90 points or 0.94%, at 9.28 am. The index opened at 76,288.65 and touched an early high of 76,421.48.The NSE Nifty 50 rose 180.80 points, or 0.77%, to 23,621.60. It opened at 23,582.25 and touched a high of 23,628.30.The positive start followed a strong session on Monday, when the Sensex surged 1,233.25 points, or 1.66%, to close at 75,692.78. The Nifty gained 387.70 points, or 1.68%, to settle at 23,440.80, ending at its day's high. INDIGO, ASIAN PAINTS LEAD GAINSAmong the Nifty 50 stocks, InterGlobe Aviation (IndiGo) was the top gainer in early trade, rising 3.44%. Asian Paints advanced 2.50%, while UltraTech Cement gained 2.18%.HDFC Bank climbed 2.07%, Hindustan Unilever rose 2% and Infosys added 1.54%. Bajaj Finance, Axis Bank, Bajaj Finserv, ICICI Bank, Eternal and TCS were also among the gainers. On the other hand, Sun Pharma fell 0.85%, Power Grid declined 0.55% and NTPC slipped 0.54%. Kotak Mahindra Bank and Trent were also trading marginally lower.The broader market also supported the positive trend. The Nifty 100, Nifty 200 and Nifty 500 were up 0.80%, 0.79% and 0.78%, respectively.The Nifty Midcap 50 gained 0.58%, while the Nifty Midcap 100 rose 0.74%. The Nifty Smallcap 100 was up 0.41%.SECTORAL INDICES IN THE GREENMost sectoral indices were trading higher. The Nifty FMCG index led gains, rising 1.54%, followed by Nifty Financial Services Ex-Bank, which advanced 1.31%. Nifty Financial Services gained 1.23%, while the Nifty Realty index rose 1.09%.The Nifty IT index was up 0.95%, while Auto, Private Bank and Media indices also traded higher. Pharma and Healthcare were among the few sectors in the red.The India VIX, which measures expected market volatility, rose 4.14% to 16.14.CRUDE OIL PRICESCrude oil prices were largely steady in early trade. WTI crude was quoted at $96.68 per barrel, up 0.23%, while Brent crude traded at $104.78, marginally higher by 0.01%, according to the market data available at the time of reporting.Dr V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments Limited, said the conditions were favourable for the continuation of the market rally.He pointed to the decline in Brent crude prices to around $104, further weakening of the AI trade, a continuing flow of good second-quarter results and foreign institutional investors turning buyers as factors that could support the market.However, Vijayakumar cautioned that the weakening of the AI trade should be seen as a correction rather than a crash, noting that results from several AI companies continued to be good.Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Equity Research at Kotak Neo, said the short-term market trend remained positive. He identified 23,300 and 23,200 as key support levels for the Nifty, while 23,500-23,650 could be the next upside zone.(Disclaimer: The views, opinions, recommendations, and suggestions expressed by experts/brokerages in this article are their own and do not reflect the views of the India Today Group. It is advisable to consult a qualified broker or financial advisor before making any actual investment or trading choices.)- Ends