Indian stock market settles in green amid hopes for potential India-US trade deal
After a highly volatile session, the Indian stock market ended in the green on Friday, supported by value buying in IT and banking stocks as talks progressed on an interim India-US trade deal.
Touching an intra-day low of 83,015, the Sensex bounced back to close at 83,432.89, up 193.42 points or 0.23 per cent from the previous session’s close of 83,239.47. Similarly, the Nifty ended 0.22 per cent or 55.70 points higher at 25,461.
“The Indian market is experiencing a pause as investors adopt a wait-and-watch strategy ahead of the impending US tariff deadline amid mixed global cues,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services.
Both benchmark indices traded with high volatility as investors remained cautious ahead of the US tariff deadline and amid mixed global signals.
Among Sensex constituents, Bajaj Finance, Infosys, Hindustan Unilever, HCL Technologies, UltraTech Cement, Bajaj Finserv and TCS closed in positive territory. Meanwhile, Sun Pharma, ITC, Tata Motors, Asian Paints, Mahindra & Mahindra and Maruti Suzuki settled in the red.
In the Nifty index, 31 stocks advanced while 19 declined.
Sector-wise, Nifty IT (up 0.80 per cent), Bank Nifty (up 0.42 per cent) and Nifty Financial Services (up 0.49 per cent) posted decent gains. Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 closed flat.
According to analysts, the markets remained volatile for yet another session but managed to end on a positive note.
“The tone was negative in the first half; however, a decent recovery in heavyweight stocks pared all losses as the day progressed, helping the index close near the day’s high at 25,461,” said Ajit Mishra, SVP – Research, Religare Broking Ltd.
Ongoing FII outflows reflect a risk-off sentiment, while DII inflows are providing partial support, market experts noted.
Following the recent rally, key indices are hovering near peak valuation levels, limiting further upside, which remains highly dependent on Q1 earnings and progress on the trade deal.
“In the mid- and small-cap space, the market has shifted to being more stock-specific following the recent recovery,” added Nair.
