India-EU Trade Pact Sparks Rally: Sensex Up 319 pts

Buoyed by news of a potential India-EU trade deal, Indian equities ended the trading day on a high note. The benchmark Sensex advanced 319.78 points (0.39%) to 81,857.48, and Nifty 50 rose 126.75 points (0.51%) to 25,175.40.

Sectoral performance was mixed, with metals and banks shining brightest. Nifty Metal soared 3.07%, followed by PSU Banks at 1.76%, Commodities 1.70%, Defence 1.53%, PSE 1.21%, and Financial Services 0.88%.

Dragging the indices were media (-1.44%), auto (-0.93%), FMCG (-0.60%), and consumer durables (-0.59%).

Midcap and smallcap indices mirrored the upbeat mood, with Nifty Midcap 100 up 0.59% at 57,483.65 and Nifty Smallcap 100 rising 0.41% to 16,419.35.

Top performers in Sensex included Adani Ports, Axis Bank, Tata Steel, Tech Mahindra, NTPC, SBI, UltraTech Cement, BEL, ICICI Bank, IndiGo, L&T, HDFC Bank, Trent, Infosys, and HCL Tech. On the flip side, M&M, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Asian Paints, Eternal, Maruti Suzuki, ITC, Bajaj Finserv, Bajaj Finance, Titan, HUL, and Bharti Airtel ended lower.

Analysts noted a choppy session where the trade deal acted as a catalyst amid volatility. Auto and beverage sectors suffered due to competition fears.

Markets opened lower—Sensex at 81,436.79 (down 100.91 pts) and Nifty at 25,063.35 (up 14.70 pts)—before recovering. Looking ahead, focus shifts to US Fed rates and the Union Budget.