Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], November 2 (ANI): Indian equity markets started the fresh trading week on a strong note on Monday, with benchmark indices opening with significant gains as easing crude oil prices, declining US bond yields and weakness in global AI-related stocks improved investor sentiment.

The Nifty 50 index opened at 23,222.30, gaining 169.20 points or 0.73 per cent, while the BSE Sensex opened at 75,178.24, surging 718.71 points or 0.97 per cent.

V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments, said there were clear indications of a turnaround in the Indian market, supported by positive domestic and external factors.

He said the moderation in Brent crude prices from last week's high of USD 118 to USD 110 per barrel had provided relief to the market. The decline in the US 10-year bond yield to 4.93 per cent was another positive factor.

He added, "Equally important is the decline in the US 10-year bond yield to 4.93 per cent. But, perhaps, more important than these external tailwinds, is the sharp weakening of the AI trade which pulled down the Nasdaq by 2.8 per cent last Friday. Weakening trend in AI trade is beneficial for India which is widely regarded as a counter AI play". 

On the domestic front, he said credit growth of 17.94 per cent and robust GST collections in October reflected resilience in the economy and improving momentum.

He also highlighted rising expectations surrounding a possible comprehensive revision of the Long-Term Capital Gains (LTCG) tax in the coming Budget, including its possible abolition, saying the market appeared to have started factoring in this expectation.

"In brief, for now, it is advantage bulls," Vijayakumar said.

In sectoral indices on the NSE, most sectors opened in positive territory. Nifty Media declined 0.58 per cent and Nifty Realty fell 0.54 per cent.

Among the gainers, Nifty Oil and Gas rose 2.60 per cent, followed by Nifty Auto, which gained 0.94 per cent. Nifty IT advanced 0.73 per cent, Nifty PSU Bank gained 0.46 per cent, Nifty Pharma rose 0.40 per cent, while Nifty Healthcare Index increased 0.30 per cent.

In commodities, Brent crude was trading at USD 110 per barrel at the time of reporting, remaining elevated over the long-term average despite moderating from last week's levels.

Gold prices opened marginally higher by 0.31 per cent after declining throughout the previous week. Gold was trading at Rs 1,38,920 per 10 grams for 24 karat, while silver was quoted at Rs 1,81,647 per kg.

Among other Asian markets, Japan's Nikkei 225 gained 0.04 per cent to 63,380, Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.22 per cent to 23,345 and South Korea's KOSPI advanced 2.23 per cent to 5,861. However, Singapore's Straits Times declined 1.64 per cent to 5,288, while Taiwan's Weighted Index fell 0.68 per cent to 44,903. (ANI)