Opening Bell: Market extends gains; Nifty approaches 16,700, Sensex up 200 points- all sectors in green

The Indian market opened on strong note on Friday even as the Europe Central Bank (ECB) resorted to interest rate hike by half per cent for the first time in 11 years. Extending the winning streak to sixth day, the benchmark indices Nifty 50 and Sensex opened higher by around 0.3% each. The two indices opened at 16,661.25 and 55,800.84 respectively.  

"Market action in the near-term will be in response to the results of the big boys RIL, ICICI Bank, Infosys and Kotak Bank to be released soon. Results are likely to be positive for markets," said V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services. 
 
Meanwhile ECB has joined the DM central bank majors in sharply raising rates and sending out a very strong hawkish message, he said. "So long as the leading central banks continue to hike rates, markets will remain volatile," the expert observed 

In the broader market, Nifty Midcap and Smallcap gained half per cent each in the opening trade on Friday.  

On the sectoral front, all Nifty indices sat in the green.  

In the pre-open, the Sensex rose by more than 100 points to trade around 55,800 as 28 stocks advanced and two declined on the 30-sgare index.  

With opening dips reversing exactly from 16485, our turnaround points for yesterday, bears never got any chance for the rest of the day, keeping the trend firmly enroute 16800, the near-term target set on Monday, said Anand James - Chief Market Strategist at Geojit Financial Services. 

"This may get extended to 17000 or beyond in the coming days, but is favoured in view for the day expects bulls to be challenged on approach to 16690-710 region. While major falls are not expected unless 16485 gives away, the prospects of the same in the next week may rise, should Nifty find unable to push beyond the 16690-710 region," he added. 

Earlier, SGX Nifty, which indicate opening trends of the Indian market, was trading flat with marginal gain of 15 points on the Singaporean Exchange on early Friday.  

Likewise, Japanese Nikkei 225 gained 0.25%, Hang Seng Index at the Hong Kong Exchange rose by 0.55% and Chinese Shanghai Composite was seen trading higher by almost half per cent on Friday morning.  

Earlier, the US market extended its winning streak to the third day as Dow Jones closed with over half per cent gains, Nasdaq surged by 1.4% and S&P 500 ended higher by almost one per cent on Thursday.