Falling crude, strengthening rupee send SENSEX, NIFTY50 higher for fourth straight session

The Indian equity benchmarks rose for a fourth straight session on Wednesday, June 17, as market sentiment remained upbeat tracking fall in crude prices in international markets and strengthening rupee against the US dollar. The SENSEX rose as much as 411 points and NIFTY50 index touched an intraday high of 24,108 led by gains in index heavyweights like Trent, Bharti Airtel, Bharat Electronics, Infosys, State Bank of India and Reliance Industries.

The SENSEX ended 347 points or 0.45% higher at 77,156 and NIFTY50 index advanced 97 points to close at 24,086.

Crude oil prices dropped below $80 per barrel (bbl) levels as global market investors focused on the positive cues amid all eyes on the US-Iran peace deal re-opening the Strait of Hormuz fully by the end of this week.

Latest reports showed that the US President Donald Trump has vowed to release the text of the peace deal agreed between the United States and Iran soon, adding to the overall positive market sentiment of the investors.

Sentiment also got a boost from strengthening rupee against the dollar. The rupee appreciated 31 paise to 94.29 against the US dollar as Brent crude oil prices and the US dollar index retreated further from their elevated levels.

Seven of 15 major sector gauges compiled by the National Stock Exchange (NSE) ended higher led by the NIFTY Consumer Durables index's over 2% gain. NIFTY PSU Bank, Metal, IT and Bank indices also rose between 0.5% and 1.75%.

On the flip side, financial services, auto, FMCG, pharma and healthcare shares closed lower.

Broader markets witnessed buying interest as NIFTY Midcap 100 index advanced 0.52% and NIFTY Smallcap 100 index gained 0.8%.

Trent was top gainer in the NIFTY50 index, the stock rose 7.25% to close at ₹3,108.

Bharat Electronics, Hindalco, SBI Life, Eternal, HDFC Life, Tata Steel, Bharti Airtel and Sun Pharma were also among the gainers.

On the other hand, Tata Motors PV dropped 8.1% to ₹361.70 after the company in an investor presentation said that for FY27 it indicates an EBIT margin of around 4%, compared with over 0% in FY26. Revenue is projected at £26 billion for FY27, up from £23 billion in FY26.

The company’s investment is estimated at £3.7 billion in FY27 as against £3.6 billion in FY26. Its operating cash flow is expected to reach breakeven in FY27, compared with negative £2.3 billion in FY26.

Cipla, Bajaj Finserv, ONGC, Axis Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Eicher Motors and Dr Reddy's Labs also fell between 0.62%-1.7%.

The overall market breadth was positive as 1,923 shares ended higher while 1,396 closed lower on the NSE.