Sensex rises 100 pts, Nifty above 25,150; pharma stocks lead gainers
Indian benchmark indices opened higher on Thursday, on the weekly expiry of Nifty 50 futures and options contracts, even as cautious sentiment prevailed globally with investors weighing an incomplete U.S.-China trade deal that offers little clarity and keeps the risk of renewed tariff tensions alive.
The
BSE
Sensex rose by 144 points, or 0.17%, to 82,659, while the
NSE
Nifty gained 42 points or 0.17%, to 25,183
On the 30-share Sensex,
Asian Paints
,
Sun Pharma
,
Bajaj Finserv
,
Bharti Airtel
,
Bajaj Finance
, and
Reliance Industries
led the gains, rising between 0.4% and 2.1%.
IT stocks
came under pressure, with the Nifty IT index declining 0.7% and snapping a six-day winning streak, as investors reacted to the fragile U.S.-China trade truce. The sector, which derives a significant share of its revenue from the U.S., saw selling amid uncertainty over the limited scope of the deal.
Investor focus this week has remained on the U.S.-China negotiations, which concluded in a tentative agreement that includes easing Chinese export restrictions on rare earth minerals and improving access for Chinese students to U.S. universities.
Meanwhile, financial stocks edged higher, with the Nifty Financial Services and Nifty Bank indices gaining 0.2% each. Heavyweights
HDFC Bank
and
ICICI Bank
advanced 0.4% and 0.3%, respectively.
Pharma stocks were among the top gainers on the day, with the Nifty Pharma index rising 1.2%, led by gains in
Ajanta Pharma
, Sun Pharma,
Mankind Pharma
, and Dr. Reddy's Laboratories, which climbed between 1% and 3.4%.
Among individual stocks, shares of One 97 Communications, the parent company of
Paytm
, tumbled as much as 10% after the Finance Ministry dismissed reports suggesting a possible introduction of a merchant discount rate (MDR) on UPI payments.
Expert View
The recent flattish trend in the market is likely to continue in the near term since there are no clear positive triggers that can push the market much higher, said Dr. VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments.
"There are reports of a possible agreement between the U.S. and China. But the Chinese haven't officially confirmed anything. President Trump is talking about a 55% tariff on China and a 10% tariff on the U.S. President Trump's credibility being what it is, it would be too early to discount this as positive for markets," said Vijayakumar.
Trump has also declared that he will be sending letters to trade partners in the next two weeks setting universal tariffs, said Vijaykumar, adding that "the tariff crisis is not yet over."
The spike in Brent crude to $70 on heightened security risks in the Middle East is a negative for India, said Vijayakumar, adding that sectors like paints, adhesives, tyres and aviation are likely to respond negatively to this while
ONGC
and
Oil India
can respond positively.
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