Indian stock markets: Nifty, Sensex climb as energy fears ease
Indian equities moved higher on Friday, mirroring gains across Asian markets, as oil prices declined after U.S. President Donald Trump abandoned plans for military strikes on Iran, citing progress in diplomatic negotiations, News.Az reports, citing Reuters.
The benchmark Nifty 50 index rose 1.02% to 23,398.9, while the BSE Sensex gained 1.17% to reach 74,693.12 by 9:35 a.m. IST.
Asian stock markets also posted strong gains, rising as much as 3.8%, while Brent crude futures fell to near two-month lows, easing concerns over inflationary pressures.
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Trump said on Thursday that the United States and Iran could reach a peace agreement as early as this weekend, potentially leading to the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz to maritime traffic. Iran, however, stated that no final decision had yet been made regarding a deal.
“Trump's decision to call off planned military strikes on Iran signals a diplomatic breakthrough, significantly reducing geopolitical risk premiums that had been weighing on global equities and energy markets over the past week,” said Hariprasad K, analyst and founder of Livelong Wealth.
All 16 major sectoral indexes traded in positive territory. Broader markets also advanced, with the small-cap index rising 1.6% and the mid-cap index adding 1.4%.
Shares of oil marketing companies benefited from lower crude prices, with BPCL, HPCL and Indian Oil gaining between 2.4% and 3.8%. Airline operator IndiGo climbed 3.5% as declining fuel costs improved the sector’s outlook.
Companies in the paint, tyre and cement industries, which are also sensitive to crude oil prices, registered gains as well.
Infrastructure giant Larsen & Toubro, which has significant business exposure in the Middle East, rose 2.8%.
Banking and financial stocks were among the leading gainers. The banking index and the financial services index each advanced 1.4%, putting them on course for a third gain in four sessions after the Reserve Bank of India announced details of a concessional foreign-exchange swap facility for banks raising foreign-currency funds overseas.
By Nijat Babayev
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