At around 9:30 AM, BSE Sensex advanced 112 points, or 0.14%, to 80,193.36, while the NSE Nifty added 46 points, or 0.19%, to open at 24,547.65.
On the Sensex, Hindustan Unilever, ITC, Asian Paints, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Trent led gainers, rising between 1% and 2%.
Sectorally, financials edged higher, with the banking index up 0.2% and the PSU banks index up 0.3%. Heavyweights HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank added 0.5% and 0.1%, respectively.
Reliance Industries gained 0.6% and will be in focus ahead of its annual shareholder meeting.
Broader markets also firmed, with both small-cap and mid-cap indexes up 0.2%.
The Nifty 50 and Sensex have each fallen about 2% over the past two sessions, as mounting concerns over U.S. tariffs on Indian goods weighed on sentiment.
U.S. President Donald Trump imposed an additional 25% levy on Indian imports linked to the country’s purchase of Russian oil, effectively doubling the earlier duty.
Markets are also watching next week’s Goods and Services Tax Council meeting, where sweeping tax cuts are expected to be discussed to support the economy amid escalating trade tensions with the U.S.
So far this month, the Sensex has declined 1.4% and the Nifty 1.1%.
Dr. V.K. Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments, said Thursday’s market action highlighted the weight of negative sentiment despite strong domestic institutional flows.
“A significant takeaway from the market trend yesterday is that despite the big buying of Rs 6,920 crores by DIIs, overwhelming the FII selling of Rs 3,856 crores, Nifty drifted down by 211 points,” Dr. V.K. Vijayakumar said.
“The reason for this important market trend is the increasing short build-up by the FIIs. The negative sentiments in the market triggered by the 50% Trump tariff and the high valuations in India has encouraged the FIIs to increase their short positions,” said Vijayakumar.
He added that September is historically known for large market moves and that a quick decision on tariff policy could trigger a reversal in sentiment and short covering. “The policy initiatives in India—the fiscal stimulus through the Budget, monetary stimulus through rate cuts and the coming GST rationalisation—should revive economic growth and corporate earnings in India in the coming quarters. That is when we will have a fundamentally supported rally in the market. Investors can utilise the dips in the market to buy fairly valued stocks and wait patiently in anticipation of the rally.”
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