Market Wrap: Sensex adds 222 points, Nifty above 25,400 as D-St recovers from early dip

Indian stocks finished higher on Thursday, with the Sensex and Nifty clawing back early losses after a volatile session as investors weighed lingering trade optimism against mounting caution ahead of the Union Budget this weekend.

A broad selloff in morning trade had pulled the Sensex down as much as 637 points, or 0.8%, to an intraday low of 81,707.94, while the Nifty 50 slid 183 points, or 0.7%, to 25,159.80. The retreat had unwound part of a two-day advance fueled by expectations of progress toward a trade agreement with the European Union.

At the close, sentiment recovered, with the Sensex higher by 222 points, or 0.27%, to 82,566.37, and the Nifty gained 76 points, or 0.3%, to end at 25,418.90.

Expert view

Domestic markets ended higher after staging a strong rebound, supported by an upbeat economic survey that reaffirmed a robust FY27 growth outlook and a well‑anchored inflation environment amidst persistent global uncertainties, said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Investments.

"Global cues were largely constructive, though elevated bullion and crude prices due to escalating U.S.–Iran tensions weighed on overall risk sentiment. Sectorally, FMCG, IT, and Auto stocks underperformed, while Metals outperformed on expectations of stronger realisations driven by firm commodity prices," said Nair.

Global Markets

Global equities advanced on Thursday as investor confidence in corporate earnings remained intact ahead of Apple’s quarterly results, even as gold surged to a fresh record and oil prices climbed amid renewed tensions between the U.S. and Iran.

In Europe, the Stoxx Europe 600 rose 0.5%, buoyed by gains in energy and mining shares tracking higher oil and precious-metal prices. Stock markets in Britain, Spain and France closed higher, while Germany’s DAX slipped 0.6%.

With expectations for U.S. interest-rate cuts before the summer continuing to recede, investors have increasingly looked to earnings growth to sustain equity valuations.

On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve held its benchmark interest rate steady, as widely anticipated. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell pointed to a “clearly improving” economic outlook and signalled broad agreement among policymakers in favour of maintaining the current policy stance.

Crude impact

Oil prices climbed for a third consecutive session on Thursday, rising about 1.5% as concerns mounted that a potential U.S. military strike on Iran could threaten oil supplies from the Middle East.

Brent crude futures added 94 cents, or 1.4%, to $69.34 a barrel by 7:30 a.m. GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude gained 92 cents, or 1.5%, to $64.13 a barrel.

Rupee vs Dollar

The Indian rupee slid to a record low against the U.S. dollar on Thursday, weighed down by heightened dollar demand tied to the maturity of non-deliverable forward positions and increased corporate hedging, even as the central bank appeared to step in to prevent a breach of the closely watched 92-per-dollar level. The currency closed at 91.9550 to the dollar, a decline of 0.2% from its previous session, after touching an intraday low of 91.9850.

The dollar, measured against a basket of major currencies, stood at 96.17, hovering near Tuesday’s four-year low of 95.566.

(with inputs from agencies)