Madhu Balaji

Market breadth remained positive. Of the 4,187 stocks traded on the BSE, 2,322 advanced, 1,676 declined and 189 remained unchanged.

Sectoral performance remained mixed, with defence, consumer durables, PSU banks and metal stocks emerging as the top performers

Nifty IT index declines over 1.5% Equity benchmarks traded marginally flat in early deals on Thursday, snapping their four-session gaining

Investor sentiment was buoyed by the prospect of lower import duties and enhanced market access under the trade pact, which is expected to benefit companies across textiles, footwear, marine exports and alcoholic beverages.

Investor sentiment remained supported by lower oil prices after progress in the US-Iran peace process, which has lifted the markets in the last four sessions

Sensex rose 254.36 points to close at 77,409.98, while Nifty 50 gained 82.30 points to settle at 24,168.00, with both benchmarks up 4.3-4.8% over the last five sessions

Benchmark indices snapped their five-session winning streak on Friday, with BSE Sensex plunging over 830 points and Nifty 50 shedding nearly 230 points, dragged lower by a sharp sell-off in information technology stocks

The Nifty IT index plunged more than 6% to a fresh 52-week low of 26,634.50, making it the worst-performing sectoral index

BSE Sensex plunged more than 850 points to an intraday low of 76,557.31, while the NSE Nifty 50 fell over 230 points to 23,936.25.

The BSE Sensex dropped 607.08 points to 76,802.90, and the NSE Nifty 50 fell 154.90 points to 24,013.10