Indian equity benchmarks opened in the green on Thursday, extending gains as positive global market sentiment and expectations of a year-end rally lifted investor confidence. The Sensex opened higher at 78,557.28 from its previous close of 78,472.87 and has climbed to 78,726.61 as of 9.45 AM, gaining 253.74 points or 0.32 per cent. Similarly, the Nifty opened at 23,775.80 compared to its previous close of 23,727.65 and is currently trading at 23,810.25, up by 82.60 points or 0.35 per cent.

BPCL led the gainers pack, rising 1.99 per cent, followed by SBI Life Insurance advancing 1.30 per cent. Adani Ports gained 0.98 per cent, while Axis Bank and Bharti Airtel added 0.94 per cent and 0.93 per cent respectively. Among the laggards, Trent declined 0.47 per cent, Tech Mahindra fell 0.46 per cent, Asian Paints dropped 0.40 per cent, Cipla shed 0.37 per cent, and TCS lost 0.31 per cent.

The rupee weakened by 10 paise to reach a record low of 85.25 against the US dollar in early trade on Thursday, pressured by persistent foreign capital outflows and heightened month-end demand for the American currency.

The positive opening came after U.S. markets hit record highs in a holiday-shortened session on Tuesday. “Lower-than-expected consumer confidence data and a drop in November’s PCE inflation helped ease concerns over potential interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve,” noted Vikas Jain, Head of Research at Reliance Securities.

Market sentiment was also buoyed by the Reserve Bank of India’s growth outlook. “RBI’s latest projection of 6.8 per cent GDP growth in Q3 FY25 based on trends in high frequency data is positive news,” said Dr. V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services. However, he cautioned that “the downward revision of FY25 GDP growth to 6.4 per cent from the initial projection of 7.2 per cent growth is a reflection of the poor assessment of the economy by the central bank.”

In the broader market, attention shifted to mid-cap and small-cap stocks, with traders focusing on pharma, realty, and mid-cap segments. Tata Group shares continued their upward momentum following reports of Tata Capital’s planned IPO. Tata Investment Corporation gained 4.24 per cent, Tata Technologies rose 4 per cent, and Tata Motors climbed 1.79 per cent.

On the global front, Asian markets traded higher in holiday-thinned trade. World stocks are poised to end the year with gains exceeding 17 per cent, driven largely by artificial intelligence enthusiasm and robust U.S. economic growth.

The commodities market saw gold trading steady at $2,615 per ounce, while Brent crude futures rose 1 per cent to $74 per barrel amid geopolitical concerns in Russia and the Middle East.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained net sellers, offloading equities worth Rs 2,454.21 crore on December 24. However, domestic institutional investors continued their buying streak, investing Rs 2,819.25 crore on the same day.

Technical analysts suggest key levels to watch. “On the upside, 23,870/78,800 will serve as the immediate breakout level for the bulls. If 23,870 is breached, we could witness a significant short-covering rally towards 24,000-24,065/79,300-79,500,” said Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Equity Research at Kotak Securities.

The India VIX, which measures market volatility, declined 2.53 per cent to trade at 13.1775, indicating relatively stable market conditions. Traders are advised to maintain caution given the upcoming December series F&O expiry later in the day.