India's Stock Markets Rally Amid Easing Oil Prices and Global Optimism

Stock markets in India rallied on September 18 amid easing crude oil prices and a positive trend in global markets. The benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty traded higher, with the Sensex climbing 162.87 points to 74,483.56 and the Nifty up 43.90 points to 23,315.25.

The major winners among the 30 Sensex firms were Bharti Airtel, Eternal, Larsen & Toubro, InterGlobe Aviation, HDFC Bank, and Adani Ports. On the other hand, Tata Consultancy Services, Tech Mahindra, Tata Steel, HCL Tech, and Infosys lagged behind.

The Brent crude price, a global oil benchmark, traded 0.93% lower at $103.8 per barrel. Asian markets were also in positive territory, with South Korea's Kospi, Japan's Nikkei 225 index, Shanghai's SSE Composite index, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index quoting higher.

Rajesh Palviya, Head of Research at Axis Direct, noted that global cues have turned more supportive, with Wall Street rebounding sharply from the previous session's Fed-driven selloff. However, he also cautioned that the Federal Reserve's hawkish stance and the possibility of further tightening continue to keep global sentiment cautious.

Meanwhile, the Tata Group stocks were trading lower during early trade, including TCS, which was down 3% after advancing in the previous session. This came as Tata Sons plunged into its most serious boardroom crisis since the ouster of Cyrus Mistry after directors voted to reappoint N Chandrasekaran as executive chairman for a further five-year term.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 3,208.76 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data. The Sensex dipped 21.86 points, or 0.03%, to settle at 74,314.59, while the Nifty ended marginally up 53 points, or 0.23%, at 23,270.60.