Sensex, Nifty rebound after 3-day slide as Asian markets rise and FIIs turn buyers

Sensex and Nifty bounced back in early trade on Friday following a three-day decline, supported by gains in Asian markets and strong FII inflows. Analysts expect range-bound movement unless the Middle East conflict escalates or crude oil prices surge.

Mumbai: Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty rebounded in early trade on Friday after a three-day decline tracking a positive trend in Asian markets and foreign fund inflows.

After a flat start, the 30-share BSE Sensex later climbed 289.43 points to 81,651.30 in early trade. The 50-share NSE Nifty went up by 88.25 points to 24,881.50.

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From the 30-Sensex firms, Mahindra & Mahindra, Eternal, State Bank of India, UltraTech Cement, Bajaj Finserv and Maruti were among the biggest gainers.

IndusInd Bank, Bajaj Finance, Tech Mahindra and Kotak Mahindra Bank were among the laggards.

In Asian markets, South Korea’s Kospi, Japan’s Nikkei 225 index, Shanghai’s SSE Composite index and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng were quoting in the positive territory.

US markets were closed on Thursday for Juneteenth holiday.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude dropped 2.45 per cent to USD 76.92 a barrel.

“Nifty which has been trading within the 24,500-25,000 range for about a month now is likely to remain within this range in the near-term. The upper side of the range will be broken only on news of de-escalation of the Israel-Iran conflict or an abrupt end to the war.

“The lower side of the range is unlikely to break since big buying, particularly by domestic institutions, will emerge on dips. If the war lingers and crude rises beyond $85 the lower band of the range will be broken,” VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments Limited, said.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 934.62 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data. Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) also bought equities worth Rs 605.97 crore.

On Thursday, the 30-share BSE Sensex declined 82.79 points, or 0.10 per cent, to settle at 81,361.87. The Nifty dipped 18.80 points or 0.08 per cent to 24,793.25.