Indian Stock Markets Recover Late, Sensex Gains 260 Points on Trade Deal Hopes

GG News Bureau
Mumbai, 3rd May: After a shaky trading day, the Indian stock markets managed to close in positive territory on Friday, breaking the previous day’s decline. The BSE Sensex ended the session with a gain of 259.75 points, closing at 80,501.99. Similarly, the NSE Nifty also edged up by a modest 12.5 points to settle at 24,346.70.

However, the broader markets showed some weakness, with the BSE Midcap Index registering a decline of 0.4 percent, while the Smallcap Index remained unchanged.

Looking at sectoral performance, media, energy, IT, and oil & gas sectors saw gains ranging from 0.3 to 0.6 percent. On the other hand, power, metal, telecom, pharma, realty, and consumer durables sectors witnessed declines between 0.5 and 1 percent.

On the Nifty, the top gainers were Adani Ports, IndusInd Bank, Bajaj Finance, Maruti Suzuki, and Tata Steel. Conversely, JSW Steel, Eicher Motors, Bajaj Auto, Hero MotoCorp, and Nestle were among the top losers.

Indian stock markets had initially opened in the green on Friday but subsequently witnessed a downturn. The recovery in the latter part of the trading session is attributed to renewed optimism following discussions about a potential trade agreement between the United States and New Delhi, reportedly initiated by US President Donald Trump.

For the week as a whole, both the Nifty 50 and the Sensex ended on a positive note, gaining 1.28% and 1.64%, respectively.

Asian-Pacific markets also showed positive momentum, buoyed by China’s indication that it would evaluate potential trade talks with the US. Hong Kong markets saw significant gains, with the Hang Seng Index closing 1.74% higher at 22,504.68, and the Hang Seng Tech Index surging by 3.08% to 5,244.06.

In Japan, the benchmark Nikkei 225 closed the day up by 1.04% at 36,830.69, while the broader Topix index rose by 0.31% to 2,687.78. According to CNBC, South Korea’s Kospi index closed 0.12% higher at 2,559.79, and the small-cap Kosdaq gained 0.64% to reach 721.86.