Headline indices bounce back after 2-day fall; financial, IT, auto shares lead recovery

Domestic equity benchmarks managed to finish a volatile session in the green on Thursday amid strong buying across sectors, though investors stared at tariff announcements after US President Donald Trump doubled a duty on goods imported from India to 50 per cent. An intraday recovery was aided by strong buying in financial, IT and auto shares, given the indices began the day in the red. Both headline indices settled with gains of 0.1 per cent. 

The Sensex added 79.3 points to end at 80,623.3 while the Nifty50 gained 22 points to close at 24,596.2. During the session, the 30-scrip index circles in a more-than-900-point range around the flatline, spending much of the day in red territory, while the Nifty largely moved within the 24,350-24,650 band. 

Earnings remained in focus on Dalal Street, with blue-chips like Titan and LIC due to announce their quarterly numbers later in the day. 

Global markets

European shares began the day on a strong note with the pan-continental Stoxx 600 index trading 0.8 per cent higher in the early hours, mirroring similar moves in other major Asian markets.

Dow futures were up more than 250 points, suggesting a positive start ahead on Wall Street.