Nifty, Sensex close with 1% gain amid continuing geopolitical tensions

MUMBAI: Equity markets closed with gains of more than 1 per cent on Thursday as benchmark indices rebounded from oversold levels despite continued pressure from elevated crude oil prices and ongoing geopolitical tensions. The Nifty 50 index closed at 23,689.60, gaining 277 points or 1.18 per cent, while the BSE Sensex ended at 75,398.72 with a surge of 789.74 points or 1.06 per cent.

Market experts said investor sentiment improved during the session due to expectations of possible government measures to support the rupee and positive developments from the Trump-Xi summit. Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Investments, said Indian equities recovered despite continued pressure from currency weakness and rising crude oil prices.

“Indian equities staged a counterintuitive recovery from intraday lows and ended higher despite the rupee hitting a record low and crude remaining elevated,” Nair said. According to him, investors were encouraged by expectations that the government may take measures to reduce pressure on the rupee, including possible bond tax relief for foreign investors and tightening of the Liberalized Remittance Scheme to control capital outflows.

“Sentiment was further anchored by positive cues from the Trump-Xi summit, which raised hopes of expanding economic cooperation,” he added.

Among sectors, pharma, healthcare and metal stocks led the gains during the session. Nair noted that pharma and healthcare stocks gained due to sectoral rotation, while metal shares advanced on higher metal prices and improving demand expectations from China. However, IT stocks remained under pressure and extended their decline during the session.

On the National Stock Exchange (NSE), almost all sectoral indices ended in the green except the IT index, which declined by 2 per cent. Nifty Pharma gained 2.80 per cent, while the Nifty Healthcare index rose 2.63 per cent. Nifty Metal surged 2.11 per cent and Nifty PSU Bank advanced 1.57 per cent. Nifty Media gained 1.02 per cent, while the Nifty Auto index rose 0.71 per cent.

Meanwhile, crude oil prices continued to remain elevated amid ongoing geopolitical concerns. Brent crude was trading at USD 105 per barrel at the time of filing this report. In the commodity market, gold prices continued their upward movement. Gold prices for 24 karat reached Rs 1,62,250 per 10 grams on Thursday. Silver prices, however, declined by 1 per cent to Rs 2,97,002 per kilogram.

Asian markets showed a mixed trend on Thursday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 index closed lower by 0.59 per cent at 62,898, while Singapore’s Straits Times index declined 0.16 per cent to 4,995. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index also closed marginally lower by 0.11 per cent at 26,360. On the other hand, Taiwan’s weighted index gained 0.90 per cent to close at 41,751, while South Korea’s KOSPI index surged 1.72 per cent to 7,981. (ANI)