Markets trade higher amid hopes of diplomatic breakthrough in West Asia conflict

Indian equity benchmarks made a positive start on Thursday as easing crude oil prices and hopes of a diplomatic breakthrough in the West Asia conflict supported investors' sentiments. Brent crude slipped below the $80-a-barrel mark, while WTI crude traded around the $75-a-barrel mark as investors assessed progress in Iran-Oman talks that could pave the way for a broader U.S.-Iran peace deal.

The BSE Sensex traded higher with modest gains in early deals, led by index heavyweight Reliance Industries. However, the upside remained capped amid volatility ahead of the weekly F&O expiry later in the day.

The Nifty 50 traded flat with a positive bias in early deals. However, investor caution also persisted as NSE data showed that FIIs snapped their six-session buying streak on Wednesday, offloading Indian equities worth Rs 943 crore.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly lower as investors tracked developments surrounding a possible Iran-U.S. agreement over the Strait of Hormuz and assessed mixed cues from Wall Street. 

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 78756.40, up by 175.40 points or 0.22% after trading in a range of 78633.73 and 78800.27. There were 16 stocks advancing against 14 stocks declining on the index.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Consumer Durables up by 0.62%, Energy up by 0.62%, Capital Goods up by 0.42%, Healthcare up by 0.41% and PSU up by 0.41%, while Realty down by 1.04%, Power down by 0.73%, Utilities down by 0.69%, TECK down by 0.06% and Auto down by 0.04% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Titan Company up by 1.53%, Reliance Industries up by 1.39%, Eternal up by 1.38%, Bharat Electronics up by 0.98% and State Bank of India up by 0.94%. On the flip side, Power Grid down by 2.93%, Trent down by 1.25%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 1.02%, Axis Bank down by 0.63% and TCS down by 0.53% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Sanjay Malhotra has said that the rural economy and the agriculture sector have become more resilient over the years, supported by the growth of allied activities, expanded irrigation, greater farm mechanisation, and improved crop varieties. These developments have reduced the impact of rainfall deficiencies on agricultural output. He added that allied activities have also helped rural households cushion income losses during periods of agricultural stress.

RBI Deputy Governor Poonam Gupta has said that data from the past 15 years show the resilience of the rural economy has strengthened in multiple ways. She said 'We have seen that the overall economy has become very resilient, and that resilience extends to different sectors, particularly the agriculture sector and the rural economy'.

Gupta noted that agriculture and allied sectors have increasingly complemented each other, while the expansion of irrigated land has made agriculture less vulnerable to rainfall deficiencies. She said 'If you look at some of the measures by the government, the share of area that is irrigated now is much larger, and it's a secular increase, which means that although rainfall deficiencies and weather vagaries still matter, they matter less than they did in the past'. She added that greater access to farm credit, increased mechanisation, and improvements in crop and seed varieties have further strengthened the sector. She noted that 'Taken together, all of these measures point to a healthy rural economy and a highly resilient agriculture sector'.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 24645.15, up by 20.50 points or 0.08% after trading in a range of 24604.15 and 24650.45. There were 22 stocks advancing against 28 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Eternal up by 2.21%, Shriram Finance up by 1.92%, Reliance Industries up by 1.63%, Titan Company up by 1.46% and Cipla up by 1.29%. On the flip side, Power Grid down by 2.64%, Trent down by 2.27%, Hindalco Industries down by 1.75%, NTPC down by 0.97% and HDFC Life Insurance down by 0.88% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in red; Nikkei 225 slipped 725.44 points or 1.09% to 65,575.00, Hang Seng declined 429.82 points or 1.69% to 25,486.00, KOSPI dropped 302.15 points or 4.58% to 6,296.11, Taiwan Weighted lost 201.9 points or 0.45% to 44,409.70 and Jakarta Composite was down by 3.95 points or 0.06% to 6,347.19. On the other hand, Straits Times rose 57.23 points or 1.03% to 5,638.60 and Shanghai Composite was up by 0.49 points or 0.01% to 3,878.92.