Mumbai, February 20 – In a remarkable turnaround, the Indian stock market shook off yesterday’s sharp decline and early session losses to close firmly in positive territory on Friday, the final trading day of the week. PSU banks and metal stocks led the charge, providing the much-needed momentum to lift the benchmarks.
The BSE Sensex surged 316.57 points, or 0.38%, to settle at 82,814.71. Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty climbed 116.90 points, or 0.46%, ending at 25,571.25. At close, all Nifty indices except Nifty IT traded in the green, signaling broad-based recovery.
Despite pressures from heightened US-Iran tensions weighing on Asian markets, Indian equities demonstrated resilience. The Nifty Midcap 100 index rose 0.48%, while the Nifty Smallcap 100 dipped marginally by 0.11%.
Sector-wise performance was robust in key areas. The Nifty PSU Bank index led with a stellar 1.68% gain, followed by Nifty Metal at 1.25%. Nifty Auto advanced 0.41%, Nifty FMCG gained 0.56%, and Nifty Bank rose 0.71%. In contrast, Nifty IT buckled under pressure, declining 0.98%.
Among Sensex constituents, 22 of the 30 stocks ended higher, with 8 witnessing losses. Standouts included NTPC, L&T, HUL, Tata Steel, Power Grid, and BEL, each posting gains up to 2.7%. On the flip side, Tech Mahindra, Infosys, Eternal, HCL Tech, and Bharti Airtel emerged as top losers.
This recovery underscores investor confidence amid global headwinds, setting a positive tone as markets look ahead to the weekend. Analysts attribute the bounce to value buying in beaten-down sectors and expectations of policy support for public sector lenders.