By Bharath Rajeswaran
March 20 (Reuters) – India’s benchmark shares rose on Friday, recovering partially from their steepest single-day fall in nearly two years in the previous session, as oil prices eased, offering some relief to global markets amid the ongoing war in the Middle East.
The Nifty 50 rose 1.05% to 23,243.85 and the BSE Sensex gained 1.02% to 74,958.69, as of 10:09 a.m. IST.
The rupee depreciated to a record low against the U.S. dollar—markets were shut on Thursday for a local holiday.
All 16 major sectors logged gains. The broader small-caps and mid-caps rose 0.8% and 1.3%, respectively.
Brent crude moderated to $107 per barrel, after rising to $119.13 a barrel on Thursday on attacks on energy infrastructure in the Middle East.
The drop comes after leading European nations and Japan offered to join efforts to secure the safe passage for ships through the Strait of Hormuz and the U.S. outlined moves to boost oil supply.
“Indications that Israel may avoid targeting Iran’s energy infrastructure have eased immediate fears of supply disruptions bringing in some relief to markets. Sentiment remains highly driven by events in the Middle East,” said Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money.
Both benchmarks fell 3.3% in the previous session, their worst day since June 2024, with heavyweight HDFC Bank leading losses after the abrupt exit of its part-time chairman.
HDFC Bank fell another 1.8% on Friday after a 5.3% drop in the previous session.
State-owned banks rose 3.2% after dropping 2.9% as part of Thursday’s broader selloff, with State Bank of India rising 3%.
State Bank of India unit SBI Funds Management filed for an IPO, with the country’s largest lender and France’s Amundi together offloading a 10% stake.
Metals gained 2.2%, in a broad rebound from a 3.2% decline in the previous session.
IT index rose 1.7% following Thursday’s 3.3% drop.
Tata Steel jumped 4% after HSBC hiked its price target and raised earnings estimates, citing gains from tariff protection and safeguard duty in UK, EU and India.
(Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran in Bengaluru; Editing by Sonia Cheema, Mrigank Dhaniwala and Janane Venkatraman)