The domestic equity benchmarks traded with significant gains in the afternoon trade, recovering from steep losses in the previous session, supported by easing crude oil prices and value buying.
The Nifty 50 traded above the 23,250 mark, with all sectoral indices trading in the green. PSU bank, pharma, and metal shares advanced.
At 13:28 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex surged 797.98 points or 1.07% to 74,995.96. The Nifty 50 index jumped 258.80 points or 1.12% to 23,258.95.
In the broader market, the BSE 150 MidCap Index added 1.33% and the BSE 250 SmallCap Index gained 0.94%.
The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2,825 shares rose and 1,314 shares fell. A total of 162 shares were unchanged.
The rupee hit a record low of 93.3800 against the U.S. dollar, as the greenback strengthened further and FII outflows continued unabated amid the ongoing West Asia conflict.
The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, fell 1.96% to 22.36.
Gainers & Losers:
JSW Steel (up 4.16%), Coal India (up 3.57%), Tata Steel (up 3.55%), Tech Mahindra (up 3.48%) and Reliance Industries (up 2.87%) were the major Nifty50 gainers.
HDFC Bank (down 1.63%), HDFC Life Insurance Company (down 1.18%), Hindalco Industries (down 1.01%), Bajaj Finance (down 0.33%) and Bharat Electronic (down 0.26%) were the major Nifty50 losers.
Stocks in Spotlight:
Lemon Tree Hotels shed 0.56%. The company said that it has signed a license agreement viz. Lemon Tree Resort in Lonavala, Maharashtra. The property shall be managed by Carnation Hotels Private Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Lemon Tree Hotels.
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) rose 0.56%. The company stated that it has entered into a pact with ABB for a strategic IT, AI, and engineering partnership.
Tata Power Company rose 2.10% following reports that the company has signed a Power Purchase Agreement with the Gujarat government for its Mundra power plant.
Natco Pharma jumped 2.45% after the company announced the launch of Semaglutide Injection (multi dose vials) in the India market under the brand names of SEMANAT and SEMAFULL.
Global Markets:
European stocks opened higher on Friday, rebounding from losses in the prior session, as investors assessed moderating oil prices amid an intensifying conflict in the Middle East.
Asian markets traded mixed, following volatile trading on Wall Street overnight, as the Middle East war and disruptions to energy supply keep investors jittery.
The People’s Bank of China kept its key lending rates steady in March, with the one-year LPR at 3.0% and the five-year LPR at 3.5%, in line with expectations. The decision reflects a cautious stance amid global uncertainties, even as domestic data shows resilience, while property weakness and soft demand persist.
Japan’s markets were closed for a public holiday
Signaling efforts at calming concerns, U.S. President Donald Trump said that he was not deploying ground troops, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that Israel would refrain from repeating attacks on Iranian energy facilities.
U.S.-aligned countries, including Britain, Canada, France, Germany and Japan issued a joint statement expressing “our readiness to contribute to appropriate efforts to ensure safe passage through the Strait” of Hormuz.
Overnight on Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.44% to 46,021.43 points. The S&P 500 fell 0.27% to end the session at 6,606.49 points, while the Nasdaq Composite slumped 0.28% to 22,090.69.