Mumbai– The Indian stock market closed slightly higher on Thursday after a volatile trading session, as investors weighed the impact of fresh U.S. tariff threats by President Donald Trump.
Although sectors with high U.S. export exposure—such as textiles, jewelry, and auto components—remained under pressure throughout the day, gains in banking, FMCG, and IT stocks helped the broader market recover in late trade.
The Sensex ended the day at 80,623.26, up 79.27 points or 0.10 percent. It had opened lower at 80,262.98 compared to Wednesday’s close of 80,543.99, as markets reacted to Trump’s proposal for an additional 25 percent tariff on Indian imports. However, the index rebounded during the afternoon to touch an intraday high of 80,737.55, driven by buying in large-cap stocks, especially in the banking and IT sectors.
The Nifty also ended the day in positive territory, closing at 24,596.15, up 21.95 points or 0.09 percent.
Vikram Kasat, Head of Advisory at PL Capital, said early jitters from Trump’s renewed tariff rhetoric were largely absorbed. While pressure persisted in export-heavy sectors, a late-session rally in banking and FMCG shares helped lift overall sentiment.
Among the top gainers from the Sensex basket were Tech Mahindra, Eternal, HCL Tech, Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, Maruti Suzuki, and Tata Steel. On the losing side were Trent, Hindustan Unilever, Mahindra & Mahindra, Kotak Bank, NTPC, and Tata Motors.
Sectoral indices mostly finished in the green, buoyed by value buying. Nifty Fin Services rose 32 points, Bank Nifty gained 110 points or 0.20 percent, Nifty Auto climbed 59 points or 0.25 percent, Nifty IT jumped 300 points or 0.87 percent, and Nifty FMCG closed 67 points or 0.12 percent higher.
Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services, said domestic equities recovered sharply from intraday lows, despite early pressure from broad-based selling following U.S. tariff hikes. He added that reports of potential peace talks involving Trump, Putin, and Zelensky helped improve investor sentiment, raising hopes of a softer U.S. trade stance.
The broader market also moved higher. Nifty Small Cap 100 gained 30 points, Nifty Midcap 100 added 188 points, Nifty 100 rose by 28 points, and Nifty Next 50 closed 156 points higher.
The rupee remained range-bound with a slightly positive bias, trading at 87.67 against the dollar. Jateen Trivedi of LKP Securities noted that despite Thursday’s small uptick, the overall trend remains weak due to ongoing U.S. tariffs on Indian exports. The rupee has slid from 84.50 to 87.70 over the past four months. (Source: IANS)
