Benchmark equity indices closed higher on Thursday after a volatile trading session, with strong gains in automobile stocks, driven by robust quarterly earnings, helping the market shrug off global concerns following the US Federal Reserve's hawkish pause on interest rates.
The BSE Sensex advanced 273.55 points, or 0.35 per cent, to close at 77,928.15, while the NSE Nifty50 rose 66.95 points, or 0.28 per cent, to settle at 24,317.15.
Markets witnessed sharp intraday fluctuations as investors weighed rising US bond yields, geopolitical tensions in West Asia and volatile crude oil prices against resilient domestic fundamentals, healthy corporate earnings and continued foreign institutional investor (FII) inflows.
Automobile stocks led the rally after a strong set of quarterly results, with the Nifty Auto index climbing 1.63 per cent. Mahindra & Mahindra gained 1.73 per cent, while Maruti Suzuki rose 1.77 per cent, providing significant support to the broader market despite weakness in several heavyweight stocks.
Among Sensex stocks, Maruti Suzuki emerged as the top performer, followed by Mahindra & Mahindra, Reliance Industries, SBI, HDFC Bank and Power Grid. Tech Mahindra, Sun Pharma and HCLTech also ended the session with gains.
On the downside, Adani Ports was the biggest loser on the Sensex, falling 3.26 per cent. IndiGo declined 0.87 per cent, Bajaj Finserv slipped 0.83 per cent, BEL lost 0.74 per cent and Axis Bank fell 0.57 per cent. TCS, which had supported the recent IT rally, also ended 0.56 per cent lower.
Sectoral performance remained mixed. Apart from Auto, the Nifty Media index gained 0.29 per cent, IT rose 0.23 per cent, Oil & Gas advanced 0.46 per cent and Consumer Durables added 0.33 per cent. Realty was the worst-performing sector, declining 2.06 per cent, while Chemicals fell 1.17 per cent. Financial Services, Private Bank and FMCG indices also finished marginally lower.
Broader markets lagged the benchmarks. The Nifty 100 gained 0.24 per cent and the Nifty 200 added 0.12 per cent, while the Nifty Midcap 50 fell 0.33 per cent, the Midcap 100 declined 0.35 per cent and the Smallcap 100 slipped 0.56 per cent, indicating profit booking after the recent rally. India VIX rose 1.22 per cent to 12.16.
Crude oil prices remained volatile following Wednesday's sharp rally amid escalating tensions in West Asia. Brent crude rose 0.30 per cent to $91.01 a barrel, while WTI crude edged 0.05 per cent lower to $84.42.
Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Investments Limited, said domestic markets remained range-bound despite supportive local factors.
"The Fed's decision to maintain the status quo on rates was largely anticipated, but hawkishness remained due to continued emphasis on inflation control. A sharp uptick in US bond yields signalled growing pressure for a possible rate hike in the near future, keeping global investors on edge, while renewed crude oil volatility amid West Asian tensions added to external uncertainty," he said.
"As a result, domestic equities stayed range-bound with sharp intraday swings, as investors weighed global headwinds against resilient domestic fundamentals. Nonetheless, strengthening FII inflows, a firmer rupee, and encouraging Q1FY27 supported sentiment, prompting investors to treat dips as selective buying opportunities," Nair added.
Meanwhile, the rupee ended almost unchanged at 95.6775 against the US dollar, compared with its previous close of 95.6475, as sustained foreign inflows offset pressure from elevated crude oil prices.
