Sensex Rises 250 Points, Nifty Reclaims 23,900 In Early Trade

Indian benchmark indices traded in positive territory during early deals on Thursday, even as fresh geopolitical developments and higher crude oil prices kept investors cautious.

The Sensex gained around 250 points, or 0.32 per cent, to touch an intraday high of 76,752, while the Nifty advanced 46.90 points, or 0.20 per cent, to 23,928.95.

Buying across several sectors pushed Nifty Consumer Durables up 1.39 per cent, making it the top performer.

Nifty Mid-Small Financial Services gained 0.95 per cent, followed by Nifty Cement (0.69 per cent), Nifty Private Bank (0.66 per cent), Nifty PSU Bank (0.64 per cent) and Nifty Auto (0.62 per cent).

On the other hand, Nifty IT was the weakest sector, falling more than 1 per cent.

Among the major laggards on the index were Infosys, HCLTech, Tech Mahindra, TCS, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories and Hindalco Industries, which declined between 1 and 2 per cent.

Market participants said investor sentiment remained under pressure following fresh geopolitical tensions after US President Donald Trump said American forces had carried out overnight strikes on Iran in response to alleged attacks on commercial vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz.

Brent crude climbed 1.49 per cent to around $80 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose more than 2 per cent to about $75 a barrel.

According to market experts, crude prices at current levels are not seen as a major concern for India. They added that sustained foreign institutional investor (FII) inflows, along with stable oil prices, could continue to support large-cap stocks, particularly in the banking and automobile sectors.

Elsewhere in Asia, Japan’s Nikkei rose nearly 2 per cent and South Korea’s Kospi posted modest gains, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng traded about 1 per cent lower.