Sensex climbs past 85,300, Nifty tops 26,200

Benchmark indices opened higher on Friday, with domestic institutional buying and a rally in blue-chip Reliance Industries driving early gains.

The 30-share BSE Sensex rose 158.19 points to 85,346.79, while the 50-share NSE Nifty gained 55.80 points to 26,202.35 in early trade.

Among Sensex constituents, Asian Paints, Maruti, Bharat Electronics, NTPC, Mahindra & Mahindra, Reliance Industries, Bajaj Finance, and Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles were the top gainers, while ITC, Titan Company, HCL Tech, and Kotak Mahindra Bank lagged.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) sold equities worth ₹3,268.60 crore on Thursday, partially offset by Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) purchasing ₹1,525.89 crore, according to exchange data.

“Steady domestic institutional inflows continue to provide broader support, helping offset aggressive selling by foreign investors,” said Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money.

In Asia, South Korea’s Kospi, Shanghai’s SSE Composite, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng indices were trading higher. US markets were closed on Thursday for the New Year holiday.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, rose 0.46% to USD 61.13 per barrel.

On Thursday, the Sensex had slipped 32 points (0.04%) to 85,188.60, while the Nifty inched up 16.95 points (0.06%) to 26,146.55.