Sensex, Nifty Climb After 7-Day Decline: Trade Pact Boost

Mumbai, Feb 14 (PTI) Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty began the trade on an optimistic note on Friday after India and the US agreed to conclude the first phase of a mutually beneficial ambitious trade pact by this year and set a target of USD 500 billion in annual bilateral trade by 2030.

A rally in the US markets overnight also drove the domestic equities higher.

The 30-share BSE benchmark Sensex climbed 344.09 points to 76,483.06 in early trade. The NSE Nifty went up by 102.3 points to 23,133.70.

From the 30-share blue-chip pack, ICICI Bank, HCL Tech, Infosys, ITC, Tech Mahindra and Maruti were among the biggest gainers.

Adani Ports, Zomato, Sun Pharma and NTPC were among the laggards.

In Asian markets, Seoul, Shanghai and Hong Kong traded higher while Tokyo quoted lower.

US markets ended higher on Thursday.

In an ambitious move, India and the US agreed to conclude the first phase of a mutually beneficial ambitious trade pact by this year and set a target of USD 500 billion in annual bilateral trade by 2030 even as President Donald Trump asserted that Washington will not spare New Delhi from reciprocal tariffs.

Issues relating to trade and tariffs figured extensively in a meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Trump that took place hours after the US President announced a new reciprocal tariff policy for all the trading partners of the US.

At a joint media briefing with Modi, Trump announced that he and Modi agreed on a deal that would facilitate India to import more US oil and gas to bring down Washington's trade deficit with New Delhi.

"Early indications from the Modi-Trump talks are positive from the market perspective. India's willingness to buy more oil & gas from the US can help reduce the trade deficit with the US. Even though Trump is unlikely to back down on reciprocal tariffs, India is treated as a friendly country and the bonhomie between the two leaders augurs well for India," V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services, said.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 2,789.91 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data.

"The oversold market can bounce back in the near-term but a sustained rally is unlikely since the FIIs continue to be on sell mode. Only a decline in dollar and US bond yields will turn the FIIs into buyers. So watch out for this space," Vijayakumar added.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude went up by 0.23 per cent to USD 75.19 a barrel.

The BSE benchmark Sensex dipped 32.11 points or 0.04 per cent to settle at 76,138.97 on Thursday. The Nifty slipped 13.85 points or 0.06 per cent to 23,031.40.