Sensex Rises 315 Points, Nifty Gains 77 as Markets Recover After Sharp Sell-Off

Domestic equity markets closed higher on Friday, with benchmark indices recovering from the previous session's sharp sell-off as selective value buying supported sentiment.

The Nifty 50 closed at 23,140.50, gaining 77.40 points or 0.34 per cent, while the BSE Sensex settled at 73,895.74, up 315.20 points or 0.43 per cent.

However, market participants remained cautious as crude prices continued to stay elevated, US Treasury yields remained above 5 per cent, and foreign investors continued to sell Indian equities.

Crude Prices, Selective Buying Support Recovery

Vikram Kasat, Chief Business Officer – Advisory and Dealing at PL Capital, said the market's recovery was measured following Thursday's sharp decline.

"Indian equities attempted a measured recovery today after Thursday's sharp sell-off. The rebound has been driven more by easing crude prices and selective value buying than by a broad improvement in risk appetite," Kasat said.

Brent crude oil prices declined 1.38 per cent to USD 105 per barrel at the time of reporting, although they remained elevated from the average price.

Kasat said the divergence between large-cap stocks and weaker mid- and small-cap stocks also indicated that investors continued to remain selective.

He added that the sustainability of the market recovery would depend on crude prices stabilising, global yields cooling and selling pressure from foreign investors moderating.

"Until then, volatility is likely to remain elevated," he said.

Auto, FMCG Stocks Lead Sectoral Gains

On the sectoral front, most NSE indices ended higher, with Nifty Auto gaining 0.84 per cent and Nifty FMCG rising 0.26 per cent.

Nifty Metal also advanced 0.28 per cent, while Nifty PSU Bank increased 0.13 per cent and Nifty Private Bank gained 0.26 per cent.

Among the indices that ended lower, Nifty IT declined 0.28 per cent, Nifty Media fell 0.23 per cent, Nifty Pharma slipped 0.21 per cent, and Nifty Oil & Gas declined 0.23 per cent.

Gold, Silver Prices Rise

In the commodities market, gold prices rose 0.42 per cent to Rs 1,51,336 per 10 grams for 24-karat gold.

Silver prices gained 1.09 per cent to Rs 2,36,022 per kg at the time of reporting.

Asian Markets End Mixed

Asian markets ended mixed on Friday. Japan's Nikkei 225 index gained 1.22 per cent to close at 66,320, while Singapore's Straits Times index rose 0.49 per cent to settle at 5,711.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index declined 1.21 per cent to close at 24,465. Markets in Taiwan and South Korea remained closed for a holiday.

Inflation, Foreign Fund Outflows Keep Sentiment Cautious

Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Investments, said volatile crude prices and elevated bond yields kept the market recovery capped.

“Concerns over inflation, foreign fund outflows and pressure on EM currencies remained intact. Selective bargain hunting after the recent pullback helped the market retain a positive bias, though gains remained confined to a narrow trading range".

Going ahead, the market's direction is expected to remain sensitive to movements in crude oil, global bond yields and foreign investor flows, with volatility likely to remain elevated until these macro pressures ease.