Closing Bell: Bull roars on D-Street! Sensex soars 1,695 points, Nifty reclaims 23,600 - Banks stocks lead rally

Stock Market Highlights: Indian equity benchmarks rallied sharply on Friday, while the rupee posted strong gains against the US dollar, as hopes of a diplomatic breakthrough between the United States and Iran improved global risk sentiment and triggered a sharp fall in crude oil prices.

The 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 1,694.63 points, or 2.30 per cent, to close at 75,527.18. The NSE Nifty rose 461.30 points, or 1.99 per cent, to settle at 23,622.90.

The Indian rupee also recovered from the previous session's losses and ended at 95.11 per US dollar, up 0.7 per cent from Thursday's close of 95.76. Market participants said softer crude oil prices, a weaker US dollar and easing geopolitical concerns supported both equities and the domestic currency.

US-Iran developments trigger sharp fall in crude oil

Global oil prices declined sharply after reports suggested progress in discussions between the United States and Iran. Brent crude, the international benchmark, fell 4.34 per cent to USD 86.36 per barrel during European morning trade. US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude declined 4.47 per cent to USD 83.88 per barrel.

The fall in extended losses was seen on Thursday after US President Donald Trump said he had called off planned strikes on Iran, claiming a deal had been reached.

In a social media post, Trump said discussions had advanced to the highest levels of Iran's leadership and a broad coalition of regional powers. He, however, did not disclose details of the final points approved by the coalition.

The developments raised hopes that energy supplies from the region would remain uninterrupted, reducing concerns about higher oil prices and inflationary pressures globally.

Realty, banks and financials lead market rally

Buying was visible across most sectors, with realty, financial services, banking and auto stocks leading the gains.

Nifty Realty emerged as the best-performing sectoral index, rising 3.52 per cent. Nifty Financial Services gained 3.15 per cent, while Nifty Bank advanced 2.95 per cent. Nifty Private Bank, Nifty PSU Bank, Nifty Consumer Durables, Nifty Oil & Gas and Nifty Cement also ended with strong gains.

The banking pack remained a major driver of the rally, with Nifty Bank closing at 56,804.85.

Among Sensex stocks, Bajaj Finance surged 5.65 per cent to emerge as the top gainer. Larsen & Toubro climbed 4.89 per cent, while InterGlobe Aviation gained 4.64 per cent.

Eternal, HDFC Bank, Titan and Axis Bank rose between 2.5 per cent and 4 per cent. Reliance Industries, Kotak Mahindra Bank, UltraTech Cement, Bajaj Finserv, Bharti Airtel, Maruti Suzuki and Tata Steel also ended higher.

Defensive sectors such as FMCG, pharma and healthcare posted modest gains, indicating broad-based participation in the market rally.

IT stocks lag broader market

Technology stocks underperformed despite the strong rally in benchmark indices. Tech Mahindra fell 2.29 per cent and was the biggest loser among Sensex constituents. Power Grid Corporation declined 0.54 per cent.

Infosys, HCL Technologies and Tata Consultancy Services recorded only marginal gains. The Nifty IT index ended nearly flat with a gain of just 0.05 per cent, significantly underperforming the broader market.

Broader market indices also rose, though gains were relatively moderate compared with frontline benchmarks. Nifty MidSmall Healthcare gained 0.44 per cent, while healthcare and pharma indices advanced between 0.2 per cent and 0.4 per cent.

Rupee gains as crude eases

Commenting on the currency market, Dilip Parmar, Research Analyst at HDFC Securities, said the rupee benefited from improving sentiment following the decline in crude oil prices and weakness in the US dollar.

"The Indian rupee clawed back Thursday's losses, buoyed by improving market sentiment as global crude prices eased and the US dollar softened on hopes of a US-Iran diplomatic breakthrough. Anticipation of restored energy supplies also dragged domestic bond yields lower, tempering inflation anxieties," Parmar said.

He noted that the rupee has been consolidating in a narrow range since the beginning of June. "While the rupee has been consolidating in a tight 94.70 to 95.80 range since the start of June," he said.

On the technical outlook, Parmar said the bias remains favourable for the rupee unless key resistance levels are breached. "From a technical perspective, spot USDINR is to remain tilted toward the downside unless 95.80 is breached, leaving the door open for a move toward 94.70 and 94.50," he added.

Stock market update

Market breadth remained strongly positive on Friday, reflecting broad-based buying across the market. Out of 3,390 stocks traded, 2,740 advanced, while 564 declined and 86 remained unchanged.

A total of 67 stocks touched their 52-week highs, while 44 hit 52-week lows. On the NSE, 133 stocks were locked in the upper circuit limit, compared with 57 stocks in the lower circuit. The overall market capitalisation stood at Rs 452.33 lakh crore as of June 12.