The domestic stock market made a belated entry to the global party on Friday, boosted by US President Donald Trump’s decision to defer the imposition of tariffs on all countries, except China, by 90 days. After the announcement, Asian stocks had recorded their biggest jump in over two years on Thursday. The US markets had also rallied to multi-year highs on Wednesday before running out of steam. The Indian markets were closed on Thursday.
Opening nearly 1,000 points higher on Friday, the Sensex hit a high of 75,467.33, and moved in a narrow range after that. It finally ended the day at 75,157.26, rising 1,310.11 points or 1.77%—its biggest single-day gain since February 4. The Nifty closed above the 22,800-mark at 22,828.55, gaining 429.40 points or 1.92%, marking its best performance since January 2.
“The Indian market finally closed with a positive bias after a very volatile week, aided by the unexpected pause on reciprocal tariffs by the US, which provided relief amid uncertainty,” said Vinod Nair, head of research, Geojit Financial Services. He added that the focus will now shift to the outcome of the ongoing bilateral trade negotiations between India and the US, which could further shape the domestic market’s trade potential.
“Markets wrapped up the week on a strong note, gaining nearly 2%, buoyed by positive global cues. The US decision to defer tariffs for all countries except China eased recession concerns, boosted sentiment, and alleviated fears of a global slowdown,” said Ajit Mishra, SVP – research, Religare Broking.
The India VIX Index slipped 6.17% to 20.11, indicating a cooling in market volatility.
Market breadth was strongly positive, with 3,115 gainers versus 846 losers on the BSE. The broader indices also rallied—BSE Midcap rose 1.84%, and BSE Smallcap jumped 3.04%. Broad-based buying lifted investors’ wealth by `7.85 lakh crore.
On Friday, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) were net sellers to the tune of Rs 2,519.03 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net buyers, purchasing shares worth Rs 3,759.27 crore, according to provisional data from the BSE.
All sectoral indices on both the BSE and the NSE ended in the green. Metals, commodities, consumer durables, utilities, and power were the top sectoral gainers, rising up to 4.29%.
However, on a weekly basis, the benchmarks registered losses for the second consecutive week, falling 0.28% and 0.33%, respectively. The broader indices—BSE Midcap and BSE Smallcap—also declined 0.58% and 0.15%, respectively, marking their third straight week of losses.