In line with global markets, the domestic stock market opened with gains in the special trading session on Saturday. In early trade, BSE Sensex rose 313.09 points or 0.44 per cent to 71,969.31, while NSE Nifty rose 75.8 points or 0.35 per cent to 21,698.2.

Top gainers on the Sensex included PowerGrid, NTPC, HDFC Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Bharti Airtel, rising up to 2.08 per cent. The top losers were Hindustan Unilever, IndusInd Bank, Wipro, HCL Tech and Nestle India.

Stock exchanges are holding a special trading session on Saturday, January 20, as the markets will remain closed on the occasion of the Ram temple consecration ceremony in Ayodhya on January 22. This is a full trading session on January 20th.

In international markets, benchmark indices in Japan, South Korea and Australia rose. TSMC jumped more than 5 percent in Taiwan after American depositary receipts rose nearly 10 percent to close at the highest level since February 2022.

The Stoxx Europe 600 index jumped 0.4 percent in early trading, with food and beverages leading the broader rally. Wall Street also ended the week on a positive note.

Most of the financial stocks were trading in the green.

On Friday, the Dow and S&P 500 set new record closing levels, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq reached its best closing level in two years. Asian shares closed mixed.

According to analysts, domestic stock markets may see slow activity amid low participation from global and domestic investors.

“Since market expansion is so strong, we expect the stock-specific bullish trend is likely to continue. In the short term, Nifty may face resistance at 21,850, while support can be seen at 21,500,” said Deepak Jasani, head of retail research at HDFC Securities.

Late on Friday night, NSE and BSE announced that there will be normal trading sessions on Saturday while the markets will remain closed on January 22.

On Friday, the 30-share BSE Sensex closed at 71,683.23, up 496.37 points or 0.70 per cent. Nifty closed at 21,622.40 points, up 160.15 points or 0.75 percent.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude fell 0.68 percent to US$78.56 per barrel.

According to exchange data, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold equities worth Rs 3,689.68 crore on Friday.