Sensex up by 200 points, Nifty moving towards 24,800 mark; Tata Steel and JSW steel lead, SBI Life drags

The Indian benchmark indices opened on a positive note, after tracking cues from the Gift Nifty index, which had advanced by more than 50 points in the pre-opening session. The BSE Sensex was trading at 80,906, while the NSE Nifty was at 24,788, just inches away from the 24,800 mark.

Out of the 50 constituents in the Nifty 50 pack, 32 advanced, and 18 declined. In the Sensex 30 list, 23 stocks advanced, and 7 declined. 

Tata Steel's shares surged by 2.58%, at ₹172 apiece, closely followed by Tata Motors, which rose by 2.41%, at ₹708 apiece. Mahindra and Mahindra, which topped consecutively in the past week, settled at third, rising by 2% from its previous close, at ₹3632.50. 

SBI Life led the fall in the Nifty index, declining by 1.43%, at ₹1779, followed by Asian Paints which dropped by 0.91%, and Nestle India, by 0.82%.

On the Sensex index, Asian Paints dragged hy 0.92%, while Titan and Bharati Airtel declined by 0.25% each.

Sector-wise, Nifty Auto continues its dominance for another trading session, as it advanced by 1.59%, followed by Nifty Metal, rising by 1.28%. All the sector indices were trading in the green, including Nifty IT, which was saw its shares sink rapidly last week, amidst weakened US job market data. Even Nifty FMCG, which saw profit booking in the last session, was up by 0.33%.

Broader markets reflect similar sentiments as that of the benchmark indices, with Nifty Midcap 50 and Nifty Smallcap 50 up by 0.72% and 0.58%, respectively. 

While markets mirror positive sentiments, the Indian CIX, a yardstick to measure market volatility, too has gone up by 2%. This could be due to the US tariffs concerns looming, though there has been some steam taken off from the strained US-India ties, after Trump took back his statement about losing India to China. Prime Minister Narendra Modi too responded favourably, highlighting that both nations have a "very positive and forward-looking comprehensive and global strategic partnership."