Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], April 21 (ANI): Indian stock markets started the fresh week on a strong note, supported by positive foreign fund inflows and the visit of US Vice President J D Vance to India.

As per experts, this high-level visit is expected to play an important role in shaping a potential agreement between India and the US, boosting investor sentiment in the process.

The benchmark Nifty 50 index opened at 23,949.15, marking a gain of 97.50 points or 0.41 per cent. Meanwhile, the BSE Sensex also saw a positive opening, rising by 355 points or 0.45 per cent to reach 78,908.60 points.

Market experts believe the positive bias in Indian equities is likely to continue throughout the week, mainly due to consistent foreign investments and strong global cues.

Ajay Bagga Banking and Market Expert told ANI, 'The Asian cues are mixed on a day when some major markets remain shut for Easter. The visit of the US VP J D Vance will be the highlight of the week, with this being the first visit to India of a US VP in ten years. Symbolically, this is the first Asian nation visit by the VP in this administration. Expect positive announcements which will set the stage for the BTA and for a subsequent visit to India of President Trump'.

He added, 'Indian markets have been on a tear, recovering the previous 9 days of falls in the last 6 days. We expect the positive bias to continue this week, with FPI net positive flows being a big positive'.

Among sectoral indices on the National Stock Exchange, all indices except Nifty IT opened in the green. The Nifty Private Bank index led the gains with a rise of 1.2 per cent, followed by the Nifty Pharma index, which gained 0.86 per cent. This sectoral performance indicates a broad-based buying interest among investors.

On the corporate front, several companies are scheduled to announce their quarterly earnings for the fourth quarter of FY25 today. These include Tata Investment Corporation, Himadri Speciality Chemical, Anant Raj, International Gemmological Institute India, Alok Industries, Shilchar Technologies, Pitti Engineering, and Mahindra Logistics. Investors are keeping a close eye on these earnings reports for further market cues.

'Nifty is hovering towards the 23860 resistance level, which acts as a crucial resistance. A breakout above this resistance would indicate a continuation of the uptrend. Previously, Nifty made two failed attempts to breach this level. Technically, the price is trading above all key moving averages, further identifying more upward momentum. Volume signals buyer interest in the sector, potentially pushing the price to higher highs' said Sunil Gurjar, SEBI-registered research analyst and founder of Alphamojo Financial Services.

In other Asian markets, a mixed performance was observed. Japan's Nikkei 225 declined by more than 1.2 per cent, and Taiwan's weighted index was down 1.34 per cent. However, Singapore's Straits Times Index gained over 1 per cent, and South Korea's KOSPI index remained nearly flat with a slight gain of 0.03 per cent at the time of filing this report. (ANI)