Indian stock markets closed Thursday's session with minor gains as Sensex rose nearly 14 points to close at 74,360 and Nifty 50 gained around 11 points to end at 23,417, nearly unchanged from the previous session. According to Business Standard, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex rose 13.84 points or 0.02% to 74,360.01, while the Nifty 50 index added 10.95 points or 0.05% to 23,416.55. The equity benchmark indices BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty ended in the green on Thursday (June 4) after a volatile session, with gains in banking, midcap, oil marketing and power equipment stocks helping markets stay in the green. The Nifty Bank index extended gains for the third straight session, rising 122 points to 54,308, providing crucial support during the volatile trading session. Market breadth remained positive with the NSE advance-decline ratio at 3:2, keeping market breadth in favour of advancing shares. India VIX, which measures market volatility, experienced a notable decline, falling over 3% to 15.77, indicating a period of relative stability after intraday movements. At 13:25 ST, metals, private banks and IT shares declined, while consumer durables, realty and pharma shares advanced. Around 1,817 stocks advanced on NSE, while 1,474 declined and 105 remained unchanged, showing the broad-based nature of the market performance.
Titan shares jumped over 3% to lead gains on Sensex, emerging as one of the top contributors to the Nifty alongside ITC, according to CNBC TV18. The surge was driven by the company's announcement that it aims to double jewellery revenue by FY30 and target an 11% market share. ITC, Tech Mahindra, SBI, Bharat Electronics and ICICI Bank shares meanwhile gained around 1% each. However, Infosys, Bajaj Finserv, UltraTech Cement, Adani Ports and Tata Steel shares dropped around 15% each. From the Sensex basket, Titan Company Ltd, Eternal Ltd, Coal India Ltd, Adani Enterprises Ltd, ITC Ltd and State Bank of India were the major gainers. Infosys Ltd, Hindalco Industries Ltd, SBI Life Insurance Company Ltd, UltraTech Cement Ltd, JSW Steel Ltd and HCL Technologies Ltd were the biggest laggards. Sectorally, Nifty Consumer Durables rallied more than 2%, while Nifty Metal declined 0.7%. More than 120 stocks touched their 52-week high on the BSE, including Cemindia Projects, Nippon Life India Asset Management, Jindal Saw, HFCL, Syrma SGS, Laurus Labs, Polycab, Vodafone Idea, Federal Bank, IFCI, JK Bank, Welspun Corp, RBL Bank, among others.
The Nifty Bank index outperformed broader markets and closed higher for the third straight session, rising 122 points to 54,308, according to CNBC TV18. PSU banks outperformed their private-sector peers, supported by relatively stronger credit growth trends, rising 1.70%. Private banks also emerged as leading gainers, rising 0.70%. Banking stocks remained among the top contributors to benchmark indices, with ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank supporting the Nifty. Canara Bank rose over 1%, helping the Nifty Bank index close higher for the third consecutive session. According to Geojit Investments' Vinod Nair, "PSU banks outperformed their private-sector peers, supported by relatively stronger credit growth trends." Domestic institutional investors stepped in aggressively, with strong buying interest emerging at lower levels during the second half of the session, helping the indices recover sharply from the day's lows and recoup a significant portion of intraday losses. The strong performance in banking and midcap stocks helped limit the downside in benchmark indices, with around 1,431 stocks advancing on the NSE, while 1,788 declined and 119 remained unchanged during the previous session.
The Midcap Index outperformed significantly, climbing 279 points to end at 60,967, as reported by CNBC TV18. Among midcap gainers were Voltas, CG Power, GMR Airports, Tata Communications and Sterling and Wilson Renewable Energy. The broader market continued to see stronger participation than the benchmark indices, with the BSE 150 MidCap Index rising 0.46% and the BSE 250 SmallCap Index rallying 0.60%. The market breadth was positive with 2,244 shares rising and 1,930 shares falling on the BSE, while 182 shares remained unchanged. In the commodities market, Brent crude for Aug 2026 settlement lost $1.91 or 1.95% to $96.09 a barrel. In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar, hovering at 95.8300 compared with its close of 95.7600 during the previous trading session. Power equipment stocks gained after a positive brokerage note, with Hitachi Energy India rising more than 4%. On the sectoral front, the Nifty Media index surged 2.81% to 1,460.75, with Zee Entertainment Enterprises rising 11.48% and PhysicsWallah surging 15.64% after revising its student lending strategy.
VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments, noted that "headwinds are stronger for the market than tailwinds," citing continuing uncertainty in West Asia and sustained FPI selling as key factors weighing on sentiment. According to The Economic Times, "The continuing uncertainty in West Asia and the big and sustained FPI selling are the strong headwinds which are weighing on the market. In the absence of any resolution of the West Asia crisis, there is no scope for a healthy rally in the market." Vijayakumar added that "the bullish undertone of the booming markets in US, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan suggests more FPI selling in India." Sentiment was also weighed down by uncertainty surrounding a potential U.S.-Iran peace deal and ongoing negotiations over a U.S.-India trade agreement, as reported by The Economic Times. Trading in this volatile market amidst huge uncertainty would be extremely risky. The ideal strategy in this situation is to wait and watch," Vijayakumar noted. He suggested that market weakness will offer buying opportunities in high quality stocks under temporary pressure from FPI selling, recommending beaten down leading banks, pharmaceuticals and auto ancillaries for long-term investors.
