New Delhi, 25 June (H.S.): Domestic equity benchmarks traded firmly higher during early trading on Thursday, extending the positive momentum seen in the previous session. Although both the Sensex and the Nifty witnessed brief selling pressure immediately after the opening bell, strong buying interest soon emerged, helping the indices recover and move higher.

By 10 a.m., the BSE Sensex was trading 0.69 per cent higher, while the NSE Nifty had gained 0.62 per cent.

Among the major market movers, shares of InterGlobe Aviation, Adani Enterprises, Trent Limited, Tech Mahindra and Bajaj Finance were trading with gains ranging between 2.97 per cent and 4.95 per cent. On the other hand, Bajaj Auto, NTPC, ONGC, Tata Steel and Bharat Electronics were among the top laggards, declining between 1.54 per cent and 2.74 per cent.

A total of 2,754 stocks were actively traded on the exchanges during the morning session. Of these, 1,528 stocks advanced and traded in positive territory, while 1,226 stocks declined.

Within the 30-share Sensex pack, 22 stocks were trading in the green, supported by sustained buying interest, while eight stocks remained under selling pressure. Similarly, on the Nifty 50, 35 stocks were trading higher and 15 stocks were trading in the red.

The BSE Sensex opened the session with a gain of 399.85 points at 77,391.07. Soon after the opening, profit-booking and selling pressure dragged the index down to an intraday low of 77,280.49. However, renewed buying across sectors helped the benchmark recover steadily.

By 10 a.m., the Sensex was trading 530.35 points higher at 77,521.57.

The NSE Nifty also started the day on a strong note, opening 104.20 points higher at 24,125.85. Early selling pressure pushed the index down to 24,107.80, but fresh buying support quickly reversed the decline.

After two-way trading during the opening hour, the Nifty was trading at 24,171.70 at 10 a.m., up 150.05 points from its previous close.

In the previous trading session on Wednesday, the Sensex had settled 790.54 points, or 1.04 per cent, higher at 76,991.22. The Nifty had ended the day with a gain of 197.55 points, or 0.83 per cent, closing at 24,021.65.

The positive opening on Thursday reflects continued investor optimism, supported by broad-based buying across key sectors despite intermittent bouts of profit-booking.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar