Mumbai — Indian stocks ended higher Friday as easing crude oil prices and reports of progress toward a phased U.S.-Iran agreement improved investor sentiment.
The Sensex rose 315 points, or 0.43%, to close at 73,895, while the Nifty gained 77 points, or 0.34%, to finish at 23,140.
The Nifty Bank index climbed 389 points, or 0.26%, to settle at 55,762.
Indian equities rebounded after Thursday’s sharp decline, helped by reports that Washington and Tehran were making progress toward a phased agreement.
Brent crude slipped toward $105.60 a barrel during the session after gaining more than 7% over the previous two sessions. West Texas Intermediate crude traded below $94 a barrel amid hopes that Middle East supply flows could improve as discussions reportedly took place on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.
However, U.S. Treasury yields above 5%, continued selling by foreign investors and broader global economic risks remained key concerns for the market.
Broader markets were mixed. The Nifty Midcap 100 fell 0.23%, while the NSE Smallcap 100 gained 0.17%. The Nifty Next 50 rose 0.39%.
Most sectoral indices on the NSE ended higher, with the exception of information technology, media, pharmaceuticals and healthcare.
The Nifty Auto index gained 0.76%, consumer durables rose 0.87% and realty advanced 0.70%.
The rupee remained volatile during the week, trading in a range of 95.57 to 95.97 against the dollar before ending largely unchanged near 95.85.
Fluctuations in crude oil and gold prices, along with a stronger dollar, limited the rupee’s ability to sustain gains.
Analysts said Friday’s market rebound appeared to be driven more by selective value buying than by a broad improvement in investor risk appetite.
The difference in performance between large-cap stocks and weaker mid- and small-cap shares also indicated that investors remained selective.
Market participants said the sustainability of the rebound would depend on crude oil prices stabilizing, global bond yields easing and foreign investor selling pressure moderating. (Source: IANS)
