Sensex rises 136 points, Nifty ends above 25,100 as banking stocks lift markets

Mumbai, Oct 7 (IANS) The Indian stock markets extended their gains for the fourth straight session on Tuesday, supported by buying in major heavyweights such as ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, and Bharti Airtel.

The Sensex rose 136 points, or 0.17 per cent, to close at 81,926, while the Nifty ended 30.65 points, or 0.12 per cent, higher at 25,108.3.

“Nifty continues to stay in an uptrend, maintaining its strength above the key 25,000 mark. The broader sentiment remains constructive, with investors showing steady buying interest on dips,” market experts said.

“The immediate hurdle lies between 25,100 and 25,220 -- a breakout and sustained move above this range could trigger the next leg of gains,” they added.

“Conversely, failure to cross this level may lead to a mild pullback toward 25,000, which is expected to attract renewed buying rather than selling pressure,” analysts stated.

In the broader markets, both midcap and smallcap indices continued to show strength.

The Nifty Midcap 100 index gained 0.47 per cent, and the Nifty Smallcap 100 index advanced 0.31 per cent -- reflecting positive investor sentiment beyond blue-chip stocks.

Among sectors, realty stocks led the rally, with the Nifty Realty index climbing 1.09 per cent.

Strong buying was also seen in oil and gas, pharma, consumer durables, healthcare, banking, auto, and energy sectors.

However, selling pressure was visible in FMCG, PSU Bank, media, metal, and IT stocks, which ended the session in the red.

Analysts said that sustained buying in index heavyweights and improving market sentiment continue to drive the current uptrend, even as investors remain cautious ahead of upcoming corporate earnings and global market cues.

"After three consecutive confident closings, Nifty faced selling pressure near its resistance zone of 25200–25250 on Tuesday’s session, indicating that bulls might take a pause, leading to a possible short-term consolidation,” analysts said.

“However, as long as the index sustains above 24900 levels, where its 50-day EMA is placed, the outlook remains positive,” they added.

--IANS

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