FIRST TRADE: Sensex gains 273 pts, Nifty up 81 pts at 25,872; Vodafone Idea gains up to 8%

Indian equities tracking positive Asian markets marked fresh highs at the start in Monday's session. At the open, Sensex traded with gains of 0.33 per cent at 84,824.56, while the Nifty was up 80.7 points or 0.31 per cent at 25,871.65.

Dr. V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services said,  "The charging bull got a shot of steroids from the Fed when it cut interest rates by 50bp on September 18th. More than the rate cut, it was the Fed chief’s optimistic commentary that lifted the markets sharply. The signal from the Fed is that inflation is under control and the economy is unlikely to tip into recession. This message is positive for equities, positive for emerging markets and positive for India.

Key US data during the week like the GDP growth numbers for the second quarter and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's Speech this Thursday, followed by US PCE inflation on Friday will be in focus.

Technicals 

Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities believes while all bullish eyes will aim at the Nifty 26,000 mark with an interweek perspective, aggressive bulls may prefer to take a breather following last week’s Fed-fueled rally.

On the technical front, the Nifty may see aggressive targets between 26300-26500 zone with support at 24301, added Tapse.

Asian markets

Meanwhile, Asian markets traded with moderate gains even as the trading volume reamined thin because of a market holiday in Japan.