IT stocks including Infosys, HCL Tech, TCS and Tech Mahindra were the top gainers on Sensex, jumping up to 3%. ICICI Bank, Maruti Suzuki, Reliance Industries and others followed, rising nearly 1% each. Bharti Airtel and BEL meanwhile declined around 1% each to lead losses.Broader markets also remained in the green, with Nifty Smallcap 100 and Nifty Midcap 100 indices gaining around 0.3% each. Sectorally, Nifty IT gained more than 2% to lead gains, while Nifty FMCG and Nifty Consumer Durables slipped into the red. Around 1,689 stocks advanced on NSE, while 925 declined and 122 remained unchanged.
“There are some positive trends on the economic and market front. Brent crude declining to below $ 93 is a big positive. This has happened on expectations of a deal between US and Iran. Therefore, if a deal happens crude can decline further, thereby improving India’s macros which have been under pressure from the energy crisis. This will also help stabilise the rupee, which, in turn, can restrain the FPI outflows,” said VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments.
US and Iran have reached an agreement to extend the existing ceasefire for 60 days, although this still awaits President Donald Trump’s approval, reports said. The agreement will state how to address Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium, which will be among the first issues discussed during the 60-day window, according to a report by Axios.
US Vice President JD Vance meanwhile told reporters on Thursday evening that US and Iran are “very close” to the peace deal, and are going to keep working on it. All these developments boosted hopes for the long-awaited peace agreement to end the conflict in the Middle East finally being concluded.Oil prices drop
As a result of the renewed hopes for a sooner conclusion to the peace deal, oil prices dropped. Brent crude futures declined more than 1% to trade at $92 per barrel and WTI Crude futures fell 1.5% to $88 per barrel. This comes as prolonged closure of the Strait of Hormuz since the onset of the war late in February kept oil prices elevated above $100 per barrel for most of the days, with Brent soaring above $120 per barrel as well, before cooling down.
Rupee opens higher
Rupee opened 0.15% higher at 95.55 against the US dollar, as against the previous closing level of 95.69. This comes after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) likely intervened in the foreign exchange market to shore up the rupee ahead of the local spot market open on Friday, according to a Reuters report that quoted five traders.
FII remain net sellers
Foreign investors remained net sellers of Indian equities on Wednesday, net selling shares worth Rs 1,043 crore on Dalal Street, according to provisional data on NSE. Foreign investors have overall remained bearish on Indian markets so far in May, remaining net sellers of Indian equities for 13 out of 18 sessions.
“Already, the intensity of FPI selling has come down. A positive trend from the market perspective is that Q4 results have been better-than-expected. The double digit earnings growth in financials, automobiles and metals is impressive. Trends indicate that FY 27 will be good for defence, capital goods, renewable energy, financials and pharmaceuticals. Growth sectors like digital platform companies are getting accumulated on declines,” said VK Vijayakumar from Geojit Investments.
(With inputs from agencies)
(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)
