Mumbai: India's equity benchmarks ended marginally higher on Thursday, ending the truncated week with gains for a third straight week, as easing crude prices lifted sentiment.
The NSE Nifty 50 rose 0.1%, or 34.35 points, to close at 24,056, while the BSE Sensex gained 0.1%, or 109.25 points, to end at 77,100.47. Both indices were up about 0.4% for the week.
Markets had gained as much as 1% intraday before paring advances ahead of the prolonged weekend. Financial markets will be shut on Friday for Muharram. Brent crude extended its decline for a fourth straight session, slipping to as low as $72.4 a barrel.
"The Street was anticipating that the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz by June, and now that it has played out, oil prices have settled favourably for India, lending some investor confidence," said Dharmesh Kant, head of research, cholamandalam securities.
Kant said dips are likely to attract buying interest with the downside appearing limited. While monsoons remain a key variable, he expects no major correction even with up to a 15% rainfall deficit. "Margins and profitability will improve from Q2 onwards, though Q1 numbers could be tepid," he said.
The India VIX fell 2.5% to 13.1, pointing to easing near-term volatility expectations.
The Nifty Midcap 150 and Nifty Smallcap 250 indices fell 0.5% each. Out of 4,406 shares traded on the BSE, 1,602 advanced, and 2,627 declined. The Nifty Auto index gained 2.3% on softer crude prices, while the Nifty Metal index fell 1.4% and the Nifty IT index declined 0.9%.
Foreign portfolio investors bought shares worth a net ₹383.8 crore on Thursday.
