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Informist, Thursday, Mar. 5, 2026

 

By Arya S. Biju 

 

MUMBAI – Domestic equity indices saw a sharp rise in the final hour of trade after media reports said Iran had made a conditional offer to the US to abandon its nuclear programme. While they came slightly off highs after Iran clarified that the offer to end its nuclear programme was related to its earlier talks with the US, the indices still closed over 1% higher.  

 

The Nifty 50 was hovering around 24600 points, up 0.5% from Wednesday, when the news of Iran making an offer came and the index rose to an intraday high of 24854.20 points after that. It came off highs once the clarification was out, but still ended 1.2% higher. "I am not sure why the index did not lose the gains (after the clarification), probably there is something we don't know about," the head of research at domestic brokerage house said.  

 

Both the headline indices opened higher Thursday, tracking gains in US, Asian, and European markets. Global markets rose after a report said Iran had signalled to the US Central Intelligence Agency that it was open to talk about ending the war. This was after both the Nifty 50 and the Sensex lost around 3% in the previous two sessions since the US-Iran war broke out Saturday. 

On Thursday, the Nifty 50 index closed at 24765.90 points, up 285.40 points, or 1.2% and the BSE Sensex closed at 80015.90 points, down 899.71 points, or 1.1%. Gains in the 50-stock index were primarily driven by metal, defence, and infrastructure stocks and a sharp rebound in index heavyweight Reliance Industries. RIL rose 3?ter losing over 4% in the previous three sessions. 

 

Adding to the positive momentum, US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau Thursday said a trade deal between the US and India was "close to the finish line" and could unlock significant economic potential for both countries, media reports said. This comes after both countries agreed upon an interim agreement in February. 

 

Broader market indices also saw a sharp rebound Thursday, rising 1.4–1.9%. These indices had declined around 4?ch in the previous two sessions compared to the fall of 3?ch in both benchmark indices. Dalal Street's fear gauge, India Volatility Index, closed nearly 16% lower at 17.8575 points, indicating easing nervousness in the market. The volatility index fell after rising for the previous three sessions, during which it had gained around 62%. However, going forward, volatility in the market is expected to continue until clarity arises on the closure of the ongoing tensions in West Asia.  

 

All sectoral indices closed higher except for the Nifty IT, which fell after the rupee appreciated against the dollar. The rupee closed sharply higher Thursday as banks persistently sold the greenback on behalf of the Reserve Bank of India, dealers in the foreign exchange market said. The rupee rose against the dollar after falling for three consecutive sessions. Appreciation of the rupee against the dollar is fundamentally negative for domestic information technology companies as they earn a lion's share of their revenue from the US. 

 

Additionally, Kotak Institutional Equities trimmed its fair value on major domestic information technology players by 15-28%. The brokerage has considered risks from a possible higher artificial intelligence-led disruption and weak transmission of growth in technology spending to services, leading to moderate industry growth in the next several years, it said in a report dated Wednesday. 

 

On the other hand, most metal stocks rose Thursday, staging a rebound from the sharp selling pressure seen in the previous session. The rise in metal stocks was led by Hindalco Industries, National Aluminium Co., and Vedanta, which jumped 1.5–6.0?cause of a rise in aluminium prices. Futures contracts of aluminium on the Multi Commodity Exchange of India surged to a fresh record high Thursday as escalating hostilities in West Asia raised concerns about disruptions to supply. Further, China Thursday said it plans to reduce its production capacity for steel, oil refining and other industries and lowered its GDP growth target for 2026 to 4.5-5%. 

 

Most defence stocks rose Thursday, with the Nifty India Defence closing around 3% higher at 8293.95 points. Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders, Data Patterns (India), and Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers were the top gainers in Nifty India Defence, up 4.1-8.6%. 

 

Among individual stocks, shares of port operators Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone and JSW Infrastructure rose Thursday after global brokerage JP Morgan initiated coverage on both the stocks with an 'overweight' recommendation. The brokerage sees the companies well positioned to capitalise on the structural growth opportunities in India's ports and logistics sector with strong profitability.

 

Shares of Force Motors fell sharply after the Securities and Exchange Board of India asked the company to provide details about its December quarter and Apr-Dec earnings for 2023-24 (Apr-Mar). The markets regulator also sought details about stock price movement between Feb. 12 and Feb. 20, 2024. However, the stock came off lows and closed 1.4% higher at INR 21,755. 

 

Shares of Omnitech Engineering closed nearly 10% lower at INR 204.93 on the National Stock Exchange after listing at an over 11% discount to the issue price. Shares of the high-precision engineering components maker were listed on the NSE at INR 202, compared to the issue price of 227.   

 

* Of the Nifty 50 stocks, 38 rose and 12 fell

* Of the Sensex stocks, 19 rose and 11 fell

* On the NSE, 2,210 stocks rose, 1,039 fell, and 87 were unchanged

* On the BSE, 2,749 stocks rose, 1,515 fell, and 133 were unchanged

* Nifty India Defence: up 2.6%; Nifty Metal: up 2.3%; Nifty IT: down 0.6%

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BSE                                              NSE

Sensex: 80015.90, up 899.71 points or 1.1%       Nifty 50: 24765.90, up 285.40 points or 1.2%

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S&P BSE Sensitive Index	Nifty 50
Lifetime High: 86159.02 (Dec. 1, 2025)	: Lifetime High: 26373.20 (Jan. 5, 2026)
Record Close High: 85836.12 (Sept. 26, 2024)	: Record Close High: 26328.55 (Jan. 2, 2026)
2026 1st day close: 85188.60 (Jan. 1)	: 2026 1st day close: 26146.55 (Jan. 1)
2026 Closing High: 85762.01 (Jan. 2)	: 2026 Closing High: 26328.55 (Jan. 2)
2026 Closing Low: 79116.19 (Mar. 4)	: 2026 Closing Low: 24480.5 (Mar. 4)
2026 High (intraday): 85883.50 (Jan. 5)	: 2026 High (intraday): 26373.20 (Jan. 5)
2026 Low (intraday): 78443.20 (Mar. 4)	: 2026 Low (intraday): 24305.40 (Mar.4)
2025 1st day close: 78507.41 (Jan. 1)	: 2025 1st day close: 23742.90 (Jan. 1)
2025 Closing High: 85720.38 (Nov. 27)	: 2025 Closing High: 26215.55 (Nov. 27)
2025 Closing Low: 72989.93 (Mar. 4)	: 2025 Closing Low: 22082.65 (Mar. 4)
2025 High (intraday): 86159.02 (Dec. 1)	: 2025 High (intraday): 26325.80 (Dec.1)
2025 Low (intraday): 71425.01 (Apr. 7)	: 2025 Low (intraday): 21743.65 (Apr. 7)
2024 1st day close: 72271.94 (Jan. 1)	: 2024 1st day close: 21741.90 (Jan. 1)
2024 Closing High: 85836.12 (Sept. 26)	: 2024 Closing High: 26216.05 (Sept. 26)
2024 Closing Low: 70370.55 (Jan. 23)	: 2024 Closing Low: 21238.80 (Jan. 23)
2024 High (intraday): 85978.25 (Sep. 27)	: 2024 High (intraday): 26277.35 (Sept. 27)
2024 Low (intraday): 70001.60 (Jan. 24)	: 2024 Low (intraday): 21137.20 (Jan. 24)
2023 1st day close: 61167.79 (Jan. 2)	: 2023 1st day close: 18197.45 (Jan. 2)
2023 Closing High: 72410.38 (Dec. 28)	: 2023 Closing High: 21778.70 (Dec. 28)
2023 Closing Low: 59288.35 (Feb. 27)	: 2023 Closing Low: 17311.80 (Oct. 17)
2023 High (intraday): 72484.34 (Dec. 28)	: 2023 High (intraday): 21801.45 (Dec. 28)
2023 Low (intraday): 58699.20 (Jan. 30)	: 2023 Low (intraday): 17098.55 (Jan. 17)
2022 1st day close: 59183.22 (Jan. 3)	: 2022 1st day close: 17625.70 (Jan. 3)
2022 Closing High: 63284.19 (Dec. 1)	: 2022 Closing High: 18812.50 (Dec. 1)
2022 Closing Low: 51360.42 (Jun. 17)	: 2022 Closing Low: 15293.50 (Jun. 17)
2022 High (intraday): 63583.07 (Dec. 1)	: 2022 High (intraday): 18887.60 (Dec. 1)
2022 Low (intraday): 50921.22 (Jun. 17)	: 2022 Low (intraday): 15183.40 (Jun. 17)
2021 Closing High: 61305.95 (Oct. 14)	: 2021 Closing High: 18338.55 (Oct. 14)
2021 Closing Low: 46285.77 (Jan. 29)	: 2021 Closing Low: 13634.60 (Jan. 29)
2021 High (intraday): 61353.25 (Oct. 14)	: 2021 High (intraday): 18350.75 (Oct. 14)
2021 Low (intraday): 46160.46 (Jan. 29)	: 2021 Low (intraday): 13596.75 (Jan. 29)
2020 Closing High: 47751.33 (Dec. 31)	: 2020 Closing High: 13981.95 (Dec. 30)
2020 Closing Low: 25981.24 (Mar. 23)	: 2020 Closing Low: 7610.25 (Mar. 23)
2020 High (intraday): 47896.97 (Dec. 31)	: 2020 High (intraday): 14024.85 (Dec. 31)
2020 Low (intraday): 25638.90 (Mar. 24)	: 2020 Low (intraday): 7511.10 (Mar. 24)
2019 High (intraday): 41809.96 (Dec. 20)	: 2019 High (intraday): 12293.90 (Dec. 20)
2019 Low (intraday): 35287.16 (Feb. 19)	: 2019 Low (intraday): 10583.65 (Jan. 29)
2018 High (intraday): 38938.91(Aug. 28))	: 2018 High(intraday): 11760.20 (Aug. 28)
2018 Low (intraday): 32483.8 (Mar. 23)	: 2018 Low (intraday): 9951.9 (Mar. 23)
2017 High (intraday): 34005.37 (Dec. 26)	: 2017 High(intraday): 10515.10 (Dec. 26)

 

End

 

US$1 = INR 91.6000

 

Edited by Avishek Dutta

 

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