Stock Market: Indices trade higher by 1 % in opening trade; Nifty near 17,300, Sensex surges 550 points

After correcting 1 per cent on Fed meeting update, the Indian markets opened on bullish note on the first day of February expiry series on Friday. The broader Nifty and the Sensex were trading 1 per cent higher in the opening trade as the two indices started the day on 17,208.30 and 57,795.11 respectively on last trading day of the holiday-shortened week on Friday.  

NTPC, Bajaj Finance, Bharti Airtel, Tata Steel, Titan, IndusInd Bank, Wipro, Sun Pharma and TCS aiding the indices trade higher.  

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In the pre-open, the Sensex turned green as the index surged by over 500 points to 57,795.11. As many as 29 shares advanced, while Dr Reddy's declined on the 30-share index.  

"The first day of the February expiry series is expected to begin with markets staying flattish around the 17,100 levels. The fall seen in the January expiry has kept the markets above the significant 17,000 levels on closing basis," said Mohit Nigam, Head - PMS, Hem Securities.  

Nigam said with the budget round the corner, expectations of people from budget and the UP elections needs to be watched closely.    

With Nifty keeping a strong support at 17,000, the resistance seems to be 17,400 for the near term. While bank Nifty. Markets seem to provide strong positive momentum post the budget so advise investors to stay put in the volatile times for better returns in near term. 

Earlier, SGX Nifty too turned positive after trading lower in the early morning trade. SGX Nifty Futures on the Singaporean Exchange was trading marginally up by 11 points to 17,179.00, hinting at  flat to positive opening for the domestic equity markets.  

On Friday morning, the Asian markets were trading mixed. Japanese Nikkei 225 was up nearly 2 per cent, while Hang Seng Index at the Hong Kong Exchange and Shanghai Composite traded lower by 0.60% and 0.41% respectively at 7.30 am on Friday.  

Besides, all major indices on the Wall Street ended in the red as Fed hinted at rate hike earlier than expected. Dow Jones ended marginally lower by 0.02%, Nasdaq Composite slumped 1.40%, S&P500 fell by 0.54% and Russell 2000 dropped massive 2.29% on Thursday.