Mumbai, April 28 (NationPress) The Indian equity benchmark indices started the week on a positive note on Monday, influenced by a mix of global cues. Early trading saw robust buying activity in the PSU bank and financial services sectors.

By 9:30 AM, the Sensex surged by 400.7 points or 0.51 percent, reaching 79,613.28, while the Nifty rose 88.65 points or 0.37 percent to hit 24,128.00.

The Nifty Bank index saw an increase of 347.85 points or 0.64 percent, climbing to 55,011.90. Meanwhile, the Nifty Midcap 100 index stood at 53,801.00, gaining 230.80 points or 0.43 percent. However, the Nifty Smallcap 100 index fell to 16,518.65, down 28.55 points or 0.17 percent.

Market analysts expected a robust opening, as indicated by trends from the GIFT Nifty, which suggested a gap-up of approximately 110 points for the Nifty. This optimistic outlook followed a volatile session on Friday, where the Indian benchmarks closed down by more than 0.5 percent.

After facing resistance around 24,350, the Nifty experienced profit booking with significant fluctuations, ultimately settling near the crucial 200-period SMA at the 24,050 level. Despite some uncertainty, the overall trend remains positive.

“We continue to hold a positive outlook, as the index finds significant near-term support around 23,800. If this level holds, we could see a positive rally in the upcoming days,” stated Vaishali Parekh, Vice President of Technical Research at PL Capital Group.

“For today, support is at 23,800 while resistance is anticipated at 24,300,” Parekh continued.

Among the top gainers in the Sensex pack were M&M, Eternal, Sun Pharma, IndusInd Bank, Bharti Airtel, Axis Bank, SBI, Hindustan Unilever Limited, and L&T. Conversely, HCL Tech, Maruti Suzuki, Bajaj Finance, Asian Paints, Nestle India, ITC, and UltraTech Cement were among the biggest losers.

In the previous trading session on Friday, the Dow Jones in the US increased by 0.05 percent, closing at 40,113.50. The S&P 500 rose by 0.74 percent to 5,525.21, while the Nasdaq climbed 1.26 percent to 17,382.94.

In Asian markets (excluding China), cities like Jakarta, Bangkok, Seoul, Hong Kong, and Japan were trading in the green.

On the institutional side, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) continued their buying spree, marking their eighth consecutive session of inflows with an impressive Rs 2,952.33 crore recorded on April 25. Meanwhile, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) reversed a trend of net selling, turning net buyers with inflows of Rs 3,539.85 crore.