Indian equity benchmarks bounced back strongly on Tuesday, recovering from the previous session's sharp sell-off, as investors bought stocks at lower prices amid improving global sentiments. Markets made a positive start, as traders took support from a nearly 10% drop in global crude oil prices amid signs of a possible easing of oil sanctions and comments from U.S. President Donald Trump suggesting that the Iran war could end soon. In the afternoon session, the markets extended their gains and closed near the day’s high points.

Some of the important factors in trade:

India’s FTAs creating new opportunities: Traders took support with Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal stating that the nine free trade agreements (FTAs) finalised by India in the last four years will provide huge business opportunities for the domestic pharma and healthcare sectors. 

RBI pumps Rs 50,000 crore into banking system through OMO Purchases: Traders took note of report that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has injected Rs 50,000 crore into the banking system through Open Market Operation (OMO) purchases of government securities.   

Equity mutual fund inflows rise 8% in February: Sentiments remained upbeat as Association of Mutual Funds of India’s (AMFI) report showed a 8% month on month growth Equity mutual funds inflows in the month of February.

On the global front: European equity markets traded in the green, while Asian markets ended higher, as sentiments improved after tensions surrounding the US-Iran conflict appeared to ease, following comments by US President Donald Trump indicating that the war was largely ‘very complete’. Optimism was further supported by reports that Washington could consider easing sanctions on Russian energy.

The BSE Sensex ended at 78205.98, up by 639.82 points or 0.82% after trading in a range of 77745.47 and 78526.25. There were 24 stocks advancing against 6 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Auto up by 2.93%, Consumer Durables up by 2.60%, Consumer Disc up by 2.07%, Basic Materials up by 1.74% and Bankex up by 1.73%, while TECK down by 0.54%, IT down by 0.25%, Oil & Gas down by 0.21% and Energy down by 0.16% were the few losing indices on BSE. (Provisional)

The top gainers on the Sensex were Mahindra & Mahindra up by 3.67%, Interglobe Aviation up by 3.21%, Asian Paints up by 3.13%, Maruti Suzuki up by 2.94% and ICICI Bank up by 2.79%. On the flip side, Infosys down by 1.40%, Eternal down by 1.24%, Reliance Industries down by 0.91%, Bharti Airtel down by 0.61% and TCS down by 0.50% were the top losers. (Provisional)

Meanwhile, marking importance of Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) in expanding opportunities for India’s MSMEs, Union Minister of State for Commerce and Industry and Electronics and Information Technology, Jitin Prasada has said that recent FTAs with regions including the European Union, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and other major markets give Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) access to major developed markets. This creates significant opportunities for Indian manufacturers to join global supply chains and meet international demand.

He noted that MSMEs, which form the backbone of the Indian economy, must focus on quality-led growth instead of low-cost mass production. Since around 65% of developed markets are linked through India’s FTAs, they require high-quality products. He also highlighted that digitally connected Indian consumers, even in rural areas, are increasingly demanding better-quality goods, and zero-duty access will not allow sub-standard imports.

Highlighting the importance of technology adoption, he said that Artificial Intelligence (AI) is emerging as a critical tool across industries including healthcare, transportation, manufacturing and services. He encouraged MSMEs to adopt AI-driven technologies to improve productivity, efficiency and decision-making, while reducing the burden of routine operational tasks.

The CNX Nifty ended at 24261.60, up by 233.55 points or 0.97% after trading in a range of 24079.95 and 24303.80. There were 41 stocks advancing against 9 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The top gainers on Nifty were Shriram Finance up by 7.67%, Tata Motors Passenger up by 3.98%, Eicher Motors up by 3.72%, Interglobe Aviation up by 3.39% and Mahindra & Mahindra up by 3.33%. On the flip side, Infosys down by 1.41%, Eternal down by 1.28%, Reliance Industries down by 1.07%, Bharti Airtel down by 0.87% and ONGC down by 0.59% were the top losers. (Provisional)

European markets were trading higher; Germany’s DAX gained 523.63 points or 2.24% to 23,933.00, France’s CAC rose 138.04 points or 1.74% to 8,053.40 and UK’s FTSE 100 increased 161.9 points or 1.58% to 10,411.42.