The Indian stock market closed mixed on Thursday, with gains led by banking and oil and gas shares, despite weakness in technology and auto sectors, amid optimism over Middle East tensions easing and strong quarterly results.
Indian equities finished Thursday on a mixed note, with the BSE Sensex rising 373.76 points, or 0.48%, to 78,954.76, while the Nifty 50 added just 11.35 points to end at 24,636.00. ZeeBiz said the market was supported by a second straight day of gains, helped by optimism over easing tensions in the Middle East and a stronger-than-expected set of June-quarter results from several companies.
Banking and oil and gas shares did most of the heavy lifting, even as technology, auto and metal stocks dragged on the broader market. State Bank of India climbed 3.22%, Reliance Industries advanced 3.15% and Bharat Electronics gained 2.54%, while Power Grid Corporation fell 3.88% and TCS was among the main losers. Moneycontrol and Business Standard both reported that the banking rally helped offset weakness in other sectors, leaving the headline indices broadly unchanged in net terms.
Sector performance was similarly uneven. Nifty PSU Bank led the gainers with a 2.20% rise, followed by chemicals and oil and gas, while real estate, media, auto, metal and IT declined. In a day marked by rotation rather than conviction, the broader message from the session was that selective strength in financials was enough to keep the market afloat, even as pressure in cyclicals and technology limited any meaningful advance.
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