Mumbai: Indian equity benchmarks returned to positive territory on Thursday, ending a three-session losing run as buying in banking and financial shares helped offset concerns over volatile crude oil prices and a weaker rupee.
The BSE Sensex gained 138.36 points, or 0.19%, to close at 74,902.59, while the NSE Nifty 50 advanced 46.30 points, or 0.20%, to 23,477.80.
Banking Stocks Lead Recovery
Financial shares provided the strongest support to the Indian stock market. Nifty Financial Services, Nifty PSU Bank and Nifty Private Bank were among the best-performing sectoral indices.
HDFC Life Insurance Company, Power Grid Corporation of India and Oil and Natural Gas Corporation were among the leading Nifty gainers.
The broader market, however, failed to match the benchmark recovery. The Nifty MidCap index declined 0.38%, while the Nifty SmallCap index slipped 0.07%.
Auto and metal stocks remained under pressure and were among the major sectoral laggards.
Crude Oil Volatility Keeps Investors Cautious
The market witnessed a choppy session as investors continued to monitor crude oil prices and their potential impact on India's inflation, import costs and corporate earnings.
Weak cues from Asian markets, a depreciating rupee and firmer domestic bond yields also limited the upside.
Strong equity mutual fund inflows in August and an improvement in the SIP stoppage ratio, however, offered some support to investor sentiment.
Nifty Support at 23,400
From a technical perspective, the Nifty continues to trade below its key daily moving averages, keeping the near-term trend under pressure.
Immediate Nifty support is placed at 23,400, followed by 23,300.
On the upside, the 23,550-23,600 zone remains the first significant resistance area. A sustained move above this range could improve near-term momentum, while failure to hold support may keep the benchmark vulnerable to renewed selling pressure.
