FIRST TRADE (September 20): Sensex opens 420 pts higher, Nifty at 25,528; IIFL Finance zooms 12%

Indian equities in Friday's session opened at new highs mirroring record close in the overnight trading in the US markets. Nifty opened higher by 0.44 per cent or 112.4 at 25,528.2, while the Sensex was up 0.51 per cent or 421 points at 83,606.02.

Meanwhile, Bank Nifty is close to hit a fresh high after more than 2 month. Bank Nifty scaled its fresh high on July 4, 2024 of 53,357 levels.

Dr. V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services said, "The Dow and S&P 500 setting yet another record highs yesterday is indicative of the strength of this ongoing global bull run led by the mother market US."

A significant trend in India is the outperformance of Bank Nifty which is up two percent this week against Nifty’s rise of 0.2%. Weakness in the broader market on valuation concerns is another important trend. These trends are likely to continue, added Vijaykumar.

Oil prices, meanwhile, headed higher for the week after the US Fed's oversized rate cut and reducing stockpiles.

Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities on Nifty technicals said," Nifty is expected to trade within the 25,000-26,000 range, with key resistance at 25,500. FIIs were net sellers, while DIIs were net buyers in recent trading."