The domestic equity benchmarks traded with modest gains in the afternoon trade, supported by improved investor sentiment amid expectations of a possible de-escalation in the Iran–Israel–US conflict. The rebound follows a sharp sell-off in previous sessions triggered by escalating geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. The Nifty traded above the 24,600 level.
At 13:33 ST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, surged 367.11 points or 0.46% to 79,482.95. The Nifty 50 index jumped 138.20 points or 0.57% to 24,612.25.
The broader market, the BSE 150 MidCap Index, added 0.76% and the BSE 250 SmallCap Index jumped 0.61%.
The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2,442 shares rose and 1,630 shares fell. A total of 196 shares were unchanged.
The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, tanked 11.63% to 18.68.
IPO Update:
The initial public offer (IPO) of Sedemac Mechatronics received bids for 17,35,173 shares as against 56,32,899 shares on offer, according to stock exchange data at 13:20 IST on Thursday (5 March 2026). The issue was subscribed 0.31 times.
The issue opened for bidding on 4 March 2026 and it will close on 6 March 2026. The price band of the IPO is fixed between Rs 1,287 and 1,357per share.
Gainers & Losers:
Hindalco Industries (up 6.42%), Coal India (up 4.79%), Bharat Electronics (up 4.41%) and NTPC (up 2.99%) were the major Nifty50 gainers.
ETERNAL (down 1.90%), Tech Mahindra (down 1.69%), HCL Technologies (down 1.58%), State Bank of India (down 1.26%) and Adani Enterprises (down 1.31%) were the major Nifty50 losers.
Stocks in Spotlight:
Granules India gained 2.19% after Granules Consumer Health received an Establishment Inspection Report (EIR) from US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) for its packaging facility in Virginia, USA, with a no action indicated (NAI) status.
Markolines Pavement Technologies rose 2.79% after the company secured multiple work orders from various clients with a cumulative value of about Rs 439.74 crore for the execution of infrastructure and development projects.
Dalmia Bharat Sugar and Industries fell 1.89% after the company announced that Piyush Gupta has resigned from the position of chief financial officer (CFO) and key managerial personnel, effective March 5, 2026.
Global Markets:
European equities opened in mixed territory again on Thursday as market participants followed geopolitical developments in the Middle East.
Asian markets traded higher, rebounding after several days of steep losses as sentiment improved following overnight gains on Wall Street and easing concerns over surging oil prices.
South Korea’s Kospi jumped over 12%, staging a sharp rebound from its worst session recorded on Wednesday.
As per media reports, the rebound in South Korea’s stock market was largely driven by a reversal of leveraged selling. A wave of margin calls among retail investors had triggered heavy selling earlier in the week, but once those positions were unwound, the market began to recover, the reports added.
Other media report stated that the sell-off was mainly driven by the upside risk around oil prices stemming from the evolving geopolitical developments. Since South Korea is a major crude oil importer, uncertainty around how far oil prices could rise may weigh on the current account balance and add to inflationary pressures.
The U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has reportedly said on Wednesday that Washington will roll out a series of measures aimed at stabilizing oil shipments through the Persian Gulf, signaling that the government is prepared to step in as geopolitical tensions threaten one of the world’s most critical energy corridors.
China’s big policy meeting dubbed the “Two Sessions,” which kicked off on Wednesday, remained on investors' radar.
China has reportedly set its GDP growth target for 2026 at 4.5% to 5%, the lowest target on record going back to the early 1990s, as Beijing grapples with persistent deflationary pressures and trade tensions with the United States. Beijing also kept its budget deficit target unchanged from last year’s “around 4%” of GDP
Overnight in the U.S., stocks rose, building on the momentum seen late in the previous session, as the surge in oil prices pulled back following developments in the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran and fears about a U.S. economic growth scare faded.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 238.14 points, or 0.49%, to close at 48,739.41. The 30-stock index snapped a three-day run of losses. The S&P 500 gained 0.78% and ended at 6,869.50, while the Nasdaq Composite moved 1.29% higher and settled at 22,807.48.