Mumbai, Oct 23 (PTI) Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty ended marginally higher on Thursday, helped by robust buying in IT and tech stocks amid growing optimism on the US-India trade deal front.
After hitting a 52-week high, indices reversed most of their intra-day gains on fag-end profit-taking after sentiment turned cautious amid concerns over US sanctions against Russia's two largest oil companies.
Besides, an over one per cent decline in heavyweight Reliance Industries also pulled the markets lower.
Rising for the sixth straight session, the 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 130.06 points or 0.15 per cent to settle at 84,556.40. During the day, it jumped 863.72 points or 1.02 per cent to 85,290.06.
The 50-share NSE Nifty ended 22.80 points or 0.09 per cent higher at 25,891.40.
"Domestic equities started on a positive note; however, they pared early gains as investors booked profits following sanctions on Russian oil and the possible postponement of India–US trade negotiations.
"Meanwhile, IT stocks advanced as sentiment improved after Trump’s softer tone on H1B visas...As the undercurrent vibes of the domestic market have improved due to a possible India-US deal and a rise in consumer demand, the broad market is expected to do much better henceforth," Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Limited, said.
FIIs are gradually returning to Indian markets, encouraged by expectations of earnings rebound in H2 FY26 supported by festive demand, tax benefits and GST reductions, he added.
From the Sensex firms, Infosys climbed 3.86 per cent. HCL Tech, Tata Consultancy Services, Axis Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Titan and Tech Mahindra were also among the gainers.
However, Eternal, UltraTech Cement, Bharti Airtel and Adani Ports were among the laggards.
"Markets traded volatile on the weekly expiry day and ended nearly unchanged. The session began on a positive note, followed by range-bound movement in the first half; however, profit-taking in heavyweight stocks across sectors erased all the early gains. Sector-wise, technology stocks led the advance, with Infosys, HCL Tech, and TCS among the top gainers," Ajit Mishra - SVP, Research, Religare Broking Ltd, said.
The BSE smallcap gauge declined 0.42 per cent, and the midcap index dipped 0.15 per cent.
BSE Focused IT jumped 2.36 per cent, IT (2.26 per cent), teck (1.17 per cent), bankex (0.36 per cent), metal (0.16 per cent) and FMCG (0.14 per cent).
In contrast, services dropped 1.19 per cent, telecommunication (0.72 per cent), energy (0.54 per cent), oil & gas (0.48 per cent), commodities (0.41 per cent) and capital goods (0.28 per cent).
"The Indian equity market ended the session on a flat note, trimming early gains as investors resorted to selective profit booking amid cautious global sentiment. Uncertainty around global trade developments and the absence of fresh domestic triggers led to a profit booking," Bajaj Broking Research said in a note.
In Asian markets, Shanghai's SSE Composite index and Hong Kong's Hang Seng settled higher, while South Korea's Kospi and Japan's Nikkei 225 index ended lower.
Markets in Europe were trading on a mixed note in mid-session deals.
US markets ended in negative territory on Wednesday.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 96.72 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data.
The US Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has imposed further sanctions on Open Joint Stock Company Rosneft Oil Company (Rosneft) and Lukoil OAO (Lukoil) - Russia's two largest oil companies that the Trump administration accuses of helping fund the Kremlin's "war machine" in Ukraine.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude jumped 5.43 per cent to USD 65.99 a barrel.
Equity markets were closed on Wednesday on account of Diwali Balipratipada.
In a special one-hour Muhurat trading session on Tuesday, the Sensex rose by 62.97 points or 0.07 per cent to settle at 84,426.34. The Nifty went up by 25.45 points or 0.10 per cent to settle at 25,868.60.
This report includes content sourced from Press Trust of India (PTI), edited for clarity and context.
