Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], September 18 (ANI): Indian equity markets opened higher on Friday, with the Sensex gaining over 200 points and the Nifty crossing 23,300, tracking a broader rally in Asian markets as easing crude oil prices helped temper inflation concerns.

Both the benchmark indices opened with a gap-up; Sensex opened at 74,575.24 and was trading at around 74,485.71, up 171.12 points or 0.23 per cent against the previous close of 74,314.59. Nifty opened at 23,334.70 and was trading at around 23,327.40, up 56.80 points or 0.24 per cent against the previous close of 23,270.60, at the time of reporting.

Sectorally, Nifty Realty emerged as the major gainer, rising 1.24 per cent, while Nifty IT emerged as the top drag, declining -1.40 per cent following Nifty Midsmall IT & Telecom (- 0.39 per cent). All broad market indices traded in the green. 

On BSE, Eternal, LT, Indi Go, Bajaj Finance, Bharti Airtel, Adani Ports, Axis Bank, Power Grid, HDFC Bank, SBI, BEL, Reliance, ICICI Bank, M&M, among others, were major gainers. Meanwhile, Infosys, Tata Steel, HCL Tech, Tech Mahindra, Trent, Titan, among others, were the major losers. 

Likewise, on NSE, Eternal, Indi Go, Bajaj Finance, Shriram Finance, Eicher Motors, M&M, Cipla, LT, Maruti, Asian Paints, Bharti Airtel, Grasim, BEL, Power Grid, HDFC Bank, Titan, among others, were the top gainers. TMPV, TCS, ITC, Tata Steel, Infosys, SBI, NTPC, among others, were the top laggards during the early morning trade. 

In the commodity market, Brent crude was trading at around USD 103 per barrel while crude oil was trading at around USD 101.15 per barrel, at the time of reporting. 

Gold prices edged higher on Friday as softer oil prices and a subdued US dollar offered support. The yellow metal was trading at around USD 4,358.68 at around 9:21 AM.

Market analyst Vipin Dixena said Indian markets were responding to important global macroeconomic developments.

He noted that after the US Federal Reserve raised interest rates by 25 basis points earlier this week, the Bank of Japan also raised its policy rate by 25 basis points to 1.25 per cent, its highest level in 31 years.

"For India, the positive side is that Brent crude has cooled towards USD 104, US 10-year yields have eased below 5 per cent and global equities recovered overnight," Dixena said.

He said the immediate resistance zone for the Nifty was between 23,300 and 23,400. A sustained move above this range could take the index towards 23,500-23,600, while 23,100-23,000 remained a key support zone.

V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments Limited, said the strong activity in India's primary market has created opportunities in the secondary market.

He said investors were currently focusing on the IPO market and listing gains, which had led to weaker interest in the secondary market and depressed valuations of some large-cap stocks.

"For long-term investors, this is an opportunity. Leading banks, capital goods majors, select automobiles and pharmaceutical stocks provide buying opportunities,' Vijayakumar said. (ANI)