Closing Bell: Sensex gains 395 points, Nifty tops 23,240 - Bank stocks power weekly expiry rally

Indian stock market traded in the green, with benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty recovering some of their losses from the previous session after Iran and Israel agreed to pause attacks on each other, pushing oil prices down.

The Sensex rose 394.50 points, or 0.54 per cent, to close at 73,918.76, while the Nifty gained 119.10 points, or 0.52 per cent, to settle at 23,242.10 on the weekly expiry day.

Banking and financial stocks lead gains

Banking and financial stocks led the gains, with IndiGo rising 3.86 per cent, SBI 2.27 per cent, ICICI Bank 1.99 per cent, Axis Bank 1.92 per cent, Bajaj Finance 1.84 per cent and Bajaj Finserv 1.15 per cent.

Among other gainers, Asian Paints advanced 1.72 per cent, Trent 1.60 per cent, Maruti Suzuki 1.56 per cent, Hindustan Unilever 1.23 per cent, Kotak Mahindra Bank 1.19 per cent, Mahindra & Mahindra 1.17 per cent, UltraTech Cement 1.09 per cent, Adani Ports 1 per cent, Larsen & Toubro 0.70 per cent and Reliance Industries 0.69 per cent. Tata Steel, ITC, HDFC Bank and TCS also ended with modest gains.

On the losing side, Titan fell 2.14 per cent, NTPC declined 1.82 per cent, and Power Grid slipped 1.67 per cent. Tech Mahindra lost 1.02 per cent, Bharti Airtel 0.93 per cent, Eternal 0.91 per cent, Sun Pharma 0.45 per cent, Infosys 0.43 per cent and HCLTech 0.35 per cent, while BEL ended marginally lower.

FII selling remains key concern

Market expert Anil Singhvi said the stock market recovered sharply on Tuesday as global cues turned positive and fears of a major selloff failed to materialise.

He said market sentiment had turned cautious after concerns over global developments, but the expected panic selling did not occur. According to him, the market was due for a rebound after investors became overly pessimistic.

Singhvi said the main negative factor remains foreign institutional investor (FII) selling. He noted that FIIs were net sellers of around Rs 7,000 crore in the previous session.

Global cues support market sentiment

He said several positive factors supported the market. These included a strong recovery in US markets after last week's decline, sharp gains across Asian markets, lower crude oil prices and easing geopolitical tensions.

“Except for FII selling, almost all market indicators are positive today,” Singhvi said. He said crude oil prices remained around USD 93 per barrel, while the rupee also showed some recovery. He added that easing tensions between Iran and Israel improved investor confidence.

Singhvi said India VIX fell around the 16 per cent level after failing to sustain above its 100-day moving average near 17.10. According to him, a lower VIX is a positive signal for equities.

“VIX coming around 16 per cent is a good sign for the market,” he said. He also pointed out that benchmark indices did not break the previous session’s low levels and managed to find support, indicating underlying strength in the market.

Bank Nifty remains in focus

Singhvi said a strong recovery in midcap and smallcap stocks further improved sentiment. He added that Bank Nifty continued to show strength and remained well placed for further gains.

“Bank Nifty is showing strong momentum. There is no major concern visible at present,” Singhvi said.

He said investors should closely track weekly expiry levels, key support zones in Nifty and Bank Nifty, and whether Bank Nifty can move towards the 55,500 mark in the coming sessions.