Sensex, Nifty trade firm in early deals amid FIIs inflows

Indian equity benchmarks made an optimistic start on Thursday amid a slight easing in US bond yields and optimism around foreign exchange inflows. Traders took encouragement with RBI’s data showing that the Foreign Currency Non-Resident Bank (FCNR-B) deposits brought in $127.2 billion, while overseas foreign-currency borrowings contributed $5.26 billion and external commercial borrowings $3.89 billion.

Both Sensex and Nifty were trading firm with gains of around 0.45% each in early deals with broad-based buying across banking, financial and metal stocks. Some support came as foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained net buyers, purchasing equities worth Rs 6,688.37 crore on Wednesday.

Global cues remained supportive with most of the Asian markets trading higher as a pullback in global bond yields and steadier oil prices improved risk appetite, while investors assessed regional economic data and awaited U.S. jobs figures for clues on the Federal Reserve’s interest-rate path.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 76908.82, up by 338.47 points or 0.44% after trading in a range of 76705.02 and 76919.02. There were 15 stocks advancing against 14 stocks declining, while 1 stock remain unchanged on the index.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 2.01%, Utilities up by 1.00%, Bankex up by 0.95%, Power up by 0.91% and Basic Materials up by 0.86%, while IT down by 0.88%, TECK down by 0.50%, FMCG down by 0.19%, Consumer Durables down by 0.13% and Healthcare down by 0.05% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Adani Ports & SEZ up by 1.92%, Axis Bank up by 1.77%, ICICI Bank up by 1.55%, Tata Steel up by 1.36% and HDFC Bank up by 1.24%. On the flip side, Tech Mahindra down by 1.30%, Infosys down by 1.07%, HCL Technologies down by 1.07%, TCS down by 0.68% and Titan Company down by 0.64% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, expressing optimism over India’s growth, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said that India recorded a 'remarkable growth' of 7.8 per cent in the first quarter (Q1) of fiscal year 2026-27 (FY27) despite global disruptions, and against all odds, remains the fastest-growing major economy in the world. She added that with its strong reform orientation, India has also provided greater regulatory certainty through a range of reforms, including the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code.

She also said that among the key areas on which the government has focused are creation of capital assets and providing sustained support to industry through infrastructure development, particularly aviation; fostering a friendly and conducive investment climate; promoting the development of AI and data centres; supporting global capability centres; ensuring credit availability to MSMEs; and reducing non-performing assets (NPAs) of banks. She noted that these measures have helped create a more enabling business environment for banks and industry to thrive, grow and emerge stronger.

She further said that India has consistently remained committed to the path of fiscal prudence and fiscal discipline over the past several years, despite the ongoing challenges confronting the global economy since the onset of COVID-19. She highlighted the investment climate in India that has improved significantly, with both the central government and state governments demonstrating greater keenness and competitiveness in attracting and facilitating investments in their respective regions. She said such efforts are part of the larger national endeavour towards achieving the vision of Viksit Bharat 2047.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 24016.85, up by 102.40 points or 0.43% after trading in a range of 23955.35 and 24025.40. There were 30 stocks advancing against 19 stocks declining, while 1 stock remain unchanged on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Coal India up by 2.07%, Adani Ports & SEZ up by 1.93%, Axis Bank up by 1.85%, ICICI Bank up by 1.70% and HDFC Bank up by 1.24%. On the flip side, Tech Mahindra down by 1.42%, Infosys down by 1.12%, HCL Technologies down by 1.11%, Interglobe Aviation down by 0.97% and Titan Company down by 0.79% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green; KOSPI surged 109.64 points or 1.67% to 6,672.36, Jakarta Composite strengthened 50.99 points or 0.77% to 6,646.77, Straits Times rose 30.78 points or 0.54% to 5,774.89, Shanghai Composite gained 16.8 points or 0.43% to 3,958.19, Taiwan Weighted added 163.97 points or 0.36% to 46,328.69 and Nikkei 225 was up by 201.36 points or 0.31% to 64,527.00, while Hang Seng declined 20.21 points or 0.08% to 25,291.00.