Mumbai: Indian equity gauges, battered in March due to the Iran war, eked out gains for the second straight week Friday on expectations the recent overtures of peace by both Iran and the US would move beyond tokenism into durable peace for a region that slakes the energy thirst of the world’s fastest-expanding major economy.
The NSE’s Nifty rose 156.8 points or 0.65% to close at 24,353.55. BSE’s Sensex rose 504.86 points or 0.65% to end at 78,493.54. Both indices gained up to 1.3% this week. The Nifty had lost nearly 11% in March, its worst monthly fall since the Covid, as the rupee plunged in FY26 the most in 14 years in a pronouncedly backloaded retreat.
“This week’s gains were led by easing tensions in West Asia. As long as the conflict remains contained, with cooling oil prices and rupee strength, the positive bias is likely to persist,” said Sunny Agrawal, head of research, SBI Securities.
The Nifty index is now approaching a crucial resistance zone of 24,300-24,500, where profit booking could emerge, according to Mehul Kothari, DVP – technical research, Anand Rathi Share and Stock Brokers. “From a technical perspective, the recent rally has been largely one-sided, and early signs of negative divergence are beginning to appear on the hourly charts,” he said.
Foreign portfolio investors net bought shares worth ₹683 crore. Domestic institutions were sellers to the tune of ₹4,721 crore.
