New Delhi, 10 April (H.S.):

Domestic stock benchmarks surged in early trading on Friday, buoyed by diplomatic strides toward de-escalation in West Asia, injecting optimism into investor sentiment despite initial fluctuations between buyers and sellers.

The BSE Sensex opened at 77,121.01, up 489.36 points, oscillating between a high of 77,360.51 and a low of 76,851.16 before stabilizing at 77,348.98—a net gain of 717.33 points or 0.94% by 10:00 a.m. Similarly, the NSE Nifty commenced at 23,880.55, advancing 105.45 points, and touched 23,998.25 amid selling pressure down to 23,856.35, closing the period at 23,994.50, up 219.40 points or 0.92%.

Outperforming blue-chips included Shriram Finance, Axis Bank, Asian Paints, Jio Financial, and ICICI Bank, each gaining between 1.69% and 2.78%. Conversely, Sun Pharma, Infosys, TCS, Tech Mahindra, and HCL Tech lagged, declining 1.53% to 2.94%.

Market breadth favored advances, with 2,441 of 2,693 active stocks in green territory against 252 in red. Within Sensex's 30 constituents, 24 advanced while six retreated; Nifty's 50 saw 41 gainers and nine decliners.

This recovery follows Thursday's downturn, where Sensex shed 931.25 points (1.20%) to 76,631.65 and Nifty dropped 222.25 points (0.93%) to 23,775.10, as easing Middle East tensions now bolster risk appetite.

The bullish tilt reflects broader relief from U.S.-Iran truce prospects, underscoring equities' sensitivity to geopolitical stability.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar