Sensex soars 1,200 points on Trump’s ‘zero tariff’ note

MUMBAI: US President Donald Trump’s statement about the possibility of a zero-tariff deal with India during his West Asia tour boosted market sentiment on Thursday.This helped Nifty close above the 25,000 level. The southward movement of domestic inflation numbers, which could help RBI cut interest rates in June, also helped sentiment on Dalal Street, market players said.After opening flat and dipping into negative territory, the sensex rallied from mid-session to close 1,200 points (1.5%) up at 82,531 points. Treading a similar path, Nifty closed 395 points (1.6%) higher at 25,062 points. Both indices are at their respective seven-month closing high levels.According to Vinod Nair of Geojit Investments, the market staged a robust rebound, closing with substantial gains, driven by a decline in domestic inflation and positive signals from the US regarding a potential trade agreement with India. “The benchmark index outperformed the broader market, buoyed by growing optimism around reduced operational costs and a potentially more accommodative monetary policy stance.”The day’s rally came on the back of strong buying by foreign funds, who net pumped in Rs 5,393 crore into stocks, while domestic funds were net sellers at Rs 1,668 crore. At close of the session, investors were richer by Rs 5.3 lakh crore, with BSE’s market capitalisation now at Rs 440.2 lakh crore.Among the sensex stocks, Reliance Industries, ICICI Bank, and HDFC Bank contributed the most to the day’s rally. Of the 30 sensex constituents, only IndusInd Bank closed lower.