Sensex opens 300 points higher, Nifty above 23,700; Infosys up 4%

The S&P BSE Sensex jumped 365.07 points, or 0.48%, to 75,680.11 in early trade, while the NSE Nifty50 gained 107.55 points, or 0.45%, to 23,757.50, as of 9:40 am.

US President Trump said he had called off a planned attack on Tehran after Iran sent a peace proposal, adding that there was now a “very good chance” of reaching a deal to limit Iran’s nuclear programme. The comments lifted sentiment across Asian markets and also pushed crude oil prices lower. Brent crude fell over 2% to trade below $110 per barrel, while WTI crude declined 1.45%.

Broader markets also traded firmly higher, with the Nifty Midcap 100 rising 0.94% and the Nifty Smallcap 100 gaining 0.88%. India VIX, the volatility index, dropped 4.48%, indicating easing market fear.

Among sectoral indices, Nifty IT emerged as the top gainer, rising 3.56%. Nifty Pharma climbed 0.53%, while Nifty FMCG and Nifty Healthcare Index added 0.50% each. Nifty PSU Bank advanced 0.79%, while Nifty Consumer Durables and Nifty Oil & Gas rose 0.68% and 0.69%, respectively. However, Nifty Metal slipped 0.16%.

Dr VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments Limited, said, “FIIs turning buyers, though not a trend yet, is an indication that valuations are becoming attractive in India. Also, the concerns of bubble valuations in AI stocks are increasing. If the FII buying becomes a trend, largecaps in financials, particularly in leading banks will be the segment to move up since their valuations are attractive and the segment has growth potential.”

He added, “Broadly, at the macro level, the concerns surrounding growth, inflation and currency depreciation persist. Therefore, investors should focus on sectors which will be least impacted by these potential headwinds. Pharmaceuticals, power-related stocks and defence stocks will be least affected by a potential slowdown.”

Commenting on earnings and economic outlook, Vijayakumar said, “Q4 results have been good, in many cases better than expected. This is an indication that the economy had started to recover in response to the fiscal and monetary stimulus measures of last year, before getting impacted by the energy crisis. Therefore, if there is a quick resolution of the Hormuz crisis, the economy may recover fast and the slowdown expected this year will not be as severe as feared.”

Meanwhile, Adani Group stocks rose between 0.1% and 2.2% after the US administration moved to dismiss criminal fraud charges against billionaire Gautam Adani and settled alleged Iran sanctions violations involving one of the group companies.