Stock Market Today: Sensex Jumps 528 Points, Nifty Crosses 23,000 Amid Jio IPO Buzz

The domestic equity markets opened higher on October 21, with the Sensex gaining 528 points and Nifty crossing 23,000. Reliance Industries surged 1.8% alongside strong IT and banking sector performances.

As investors read the latest global market cues, domestic equities shared a rather optimistic picture for Wednesday, October 21. The trading session began on a notably positive note, shaking off some recent geopolitical anxieties and elevated crude oil prices.

By 9:18 am, the Nifty rose 0.63% to trade at 23,032.05, successfully topping the 23,000 mark. Simultaneously, the Sensex gained 528 points, or 0.72%, to reach 74,381.08.

Broader markets also opened higher, with the Nifty 100 rising 0.54% and the Nifty 200 gaining 0.48%. The Nifty 500 advancing 0.40% underscored the upward trajectory.

Meanwhile, the Nifty Midcap 100 added 0.23%, while the Nifty Smallcap 100 rose 0.10%. Conversely, the Nifty Smallcap 250 and Nifty Microcap 250 traded lower.

IT and banking sectors lead the morning rally

The India VIX, a gauge of expected market volatility, rose 0.49% to 14.85. V K Vijayakumar, chief investment strategist at Geojit Investments, shared his perspective in a recent post.

“With Brent crude prices and US bond yields remaining elevated, the market is likely to remain under pressure. The sell on rally market construct will continue in the near-term. However, the improving earnings growth, fair valuations of large-caps, and strong domestic liquidity will support the market on declines. Since the two large laggard sectors – IT and banking- have performed well in Q2 and are attractively valued, further corrections in these sectors will be met with strong DII-led accumulation.”

The Nifty IT index emerged as the top performer, rising 1.60%. The Nifty PSU Bank index advanced 1.02%.

Individual stock performances and future outlook

The Nifty Bank gained 0.40% to 55,707.30, while the Nifty Financial Services index advanced 0.12%. The Nifty Oil & Gas index gained 0.86%, and the Nifty Cement index rose 0.85%.

Reliance Industries advanced around 1.8%. Technology firms saw traction, with Infosys rising around 2.5% and TCS gaining about 2%. Tech Mahindra and HCL Technologies added about 1.6% and nearly 1.8%, respectively.

Vijayakumar noted that since the Q2 results season started positively, positive surprises are likely. Despite headwinds, market action will be stock-specific and results-sensitive.