Stock market soars in early trade: Sensex jumps over 800 points, Nifty above 23,260

The NSE Nifty 50 rose 216.40 points, or 0.94 per cent, to 23,269.50 in early trade, after opening at 23,222.30 against its previous close of 23,053.10.

The index touched an intraday high of 23,292.55 and a low of 23,211.80.

Market breadth remained positive, with 38 stocks advancing, 11 declining and one unchanged.

Indian equities could recover in the remaining months of the financial year, supported by resilient corporate earnings and steady economic growth, said Sachin Relekar, senior equity fund manager at Axis Asset Management Company.

"While markets are grappling with peak macro uncertainty from elevated crude prices, geopolitical tensions and global monetary tightening, India's sustained growth above 7% could brighten the outlook," Relekar said.

"In some cases, earnings have moved forward but prices have not moved as much due to global factors.

That said, the risk-reward is much better than it was a year ago, which will help a rebound," he added.

South Korean shares recovered from an early decline to trade higher, supported by dip buying and strong export growth.

The benchmark KOSPI rose 0.34 per cent to 5,750.23 after falling nearly two per cent earlier in the session.

South Korea's exports nearly doubled in October, marking their sharpest jump in more than 50 years, as robust global demand for AI-related investment boosted chip shipments.

The strong data lifted expectations of further upgrades to corporate earnings forecasts.

However, concerns over heavy AI spending on Wall Street weighed on sentiment at the opening.

Samsung Electronics fell 1.11 per cent, while rival SK Hynix gained 0.92 per cent.

Foreign investors remained net sellers, offloading shares worth 344 billion won.

The Korean won weakened 0.24 per cent to 1,337.5 against the dollar, while government bond yields rose.

Indian equity benchmarks are likely to open higher, supported by a decline in crude oil prices amid hopes of a diplomatic breakthrough in the Iran conflict and stronger-than-expected earnings from Reliance Industries.

GIFT Nifty was trading at 23,258.5 at 7:58 am, signalling a positive start for the Nifty 50, which closed at 23,053.1 on Friday.

Brent crude fell to around $111 a barrel from a six-month high of $118.

Foreign investors bought Rs 36 billion worth of Indian equities on Friday, extending their buying streak to six sessions in the past 10 trading days.

Reliance Industries reported a 40.6 per cent rise in September-quarter net profit, driven by its energy business and Jio Platforms.

Auto stocks will be in focus after October sales data, with Maruti Suzuki reporting a 21 per cent rise in total sales.

Bharat Electronics also reported strong quarterly earnings, while Sun Pharma faces regulatory restrictions on ophthalmic products manufactured at its Assam facility.

Asian markets were mixed as technology stocks struggled to recover from last week's selloff, triggered by concerns over heavy AI investments and disappointing earnings signals from major tech companies.

Japan's Nikkei fell 0.3 per cent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng and Shanghai Composite gained 0.3 per cent each.

South Korea's Samsung slipped, while Taiwan's TSMC rose.

Oil prices dropped more than two per cent after reports that US President Donald Trump wanted negotiations with Iran to continue rather than resume military action after the US midterm elections.

However, Trump reiterated his threat of fresh strikes, while Tehran warned that any renewed conflict could last longer.

Investors were also tracking the US midterm elections, with Democrats expected to make significant gains and potentially take control of the House of Representatives.

Apple, AMD and Palantir earnings due this week will offer further cues on the technology sector.