Stock markets rebound, led by banks, positive global trends

Stock markets recovered on Friday, with the benchmark Sensex closing higher by nearly 232 points following buying in blue-chip bank shares amid positive global trends.

The 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 231.99 points, or 0.31 per cent, to settle at 75,415.35. During the day, it surged 627.61 points, or 0.83 per cent, to 75,810.97.

The 50-share NSE Nifty edged higher by 64.60 points or 0.27 per cent to end at 23,719.30.

Hopes of progress in the US-Iran peace negotiations added to markets’ optimism, analysts said.

Among 30 Sensex firms, Trent, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, Asian Paints, Hindustan Unilever, HDFC Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Bajaj Finance were the major winners.

Sun Pharma, ITC, Power Grid and Bharat Electronics were among the laggards.

“Domestic markets traded with a mild positive bias, supported by buying at lower levels and moderately constructive global cues, expecting easing tensions in the Middle East. Globally, the AI investment theme remained the primary driver, while domestically, financial stocks led the gains,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments.

The BSE MidCap Select index went up by 0.30 per cent, while the SmallCap Select index declined 0.60 per cent.

Among sectoral indices, Private Banks Index rallied 1.35 per cent, Top 10 Banks jumped 1.23 per cent, Bankex by 1.18 per cent, Telecommunication by 0.93 per cent and Financial Services by 0.90 per cent.

Hospitals dropped the most by 1.39 per cent, followed by Healthcare (1.23 per cent), IT (0.32 per cent), Focused IT (0.29 per cent), Power (0.18 per cent) and Energy (0.09 per cent).

A total of 2,213 stocks advanced, while 1,971 declined and 179 remained unchanged on the BSE.

Nair said that markets remain range-bound, with strong DII inflows cushioning the downside and persistent FII selling limiting the upside.

The market is in a buy-on-dips and sell-on-rallies pattern, he added.

On the weekly front, the BSE benchmark climbed 177.36 points, or 0.23 per cent. The Nifty went up by 75.8 points, or 0.32 per cent.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, climbed 2.3 per cent to $104.7 per barrel.

In Asian markets, South Korea’s benchmark Kospi, Japan’s Nikkei 225 index, Shanghai’s SSE Composite index and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index ended higher.

Markets in Europe were trading in positive territory. US markets ended higher on Thursday.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 1,891.21 crore in the previous session, according to exchange data.

On Thursday, the 30-share BSE benchmark declined 135.03 points, or 0.18 per cent, to settle at 75,183.36. The Nifty skidded 4.30 points, or 0.02 per cent, to end at 23,654.70.