Sensex, Nifty Snap Seven-Day Losing Streak as Easing US Yields Lift Sentiment

Indian equity benchmarks opened sharply higher on Thursday, breaking a seven-session losing streak that had marked their longest run of declines in nearly 11 months, as easing US bond yields and a broad rally across Asian markets lifted sentiment on Dalal Street.

The Numbers

The BSE Sensex jumped 558.77 points, or 0.72%, to open at 77,468.45, while the NSE Nifty 50 gained 147.15 points, or 0.61%, to start trading at 24,225.45. The GIFT Nifty had signalled a positive start well ahead of the opening bell, trading around 98 to 143 points higher in the run-up to the session.

Broader markets participated in the rebound, with the Nifty Midcap index rising about 0.61% and the Nifty Smallcap index up roughly 0.69%. Nifty IT stocks led sectoral gains, climbing close to 1.5%, as several index heavyweights advanced on the back of the improved global mood.

What Drove the Rebound

The rally followed a decision by the US Treasury to at least double its buybacks of longer-dated government bonds, a move aimed at bringing down borrowing costs that helped push US Treasury yields lower overnight. Lower yields typically make emerging-market equities like India's more attractive relative to US fixed income, and the shift rippled through Asian trading on Thursday.

Asia-Pacific markets advanced broadly on the news, with South Korea's Kospi surging as much as 6% and Japan's Nikkei 225 rising around 1.3%. Overnight in the US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 both closed modestly higher, up 0.22% and 0.21% respectively, while the Nasdaq Composite added 0.16%.

Domestic factors also supported the bounce, including a stronger rupee, short covering by traders who had built up bearish positions during the losing streak, and renewed buying interest from foreign institutional investors who had been net sellers through much of the recent decline.

Context: A Rough Stretch for Dalal Street

Thursday's gains offered relief after a punishing stretch for Indian markets. The Nifty 50 had been on a downtrend since the first week of August, shedding close to 3% over the seven-session slide as concerns around global bond yields, crude oil prices and geopolitical tensions weighed on sentiment. The losing streak had been the index's longest since roughly October of the previous year, prompting debate among analysts over whether the pullback represented a buying opportunity or the start of a deeper correction.

Elsewhere in commodities, gold futures pared some of their recent gains after touching their highest level since June, while silver futures continued to advance. Brent crude remained elevated, trading above $92 a barrel amid continuing tensions in the Middle East, a factor that had also weighed on sentiment during the earlier losing streak.

What to Watch

With Thursday's gap-up open snapping the losing run, investors will be watching whether the rebound can hold through the session and extend into Friday, or whether the underlying pressures — from crude oil prices to global rate expectations — reassert themselves once the initial relief rally fades.

This article is an original editorial summary based on publicly reported information. It has been independently written for publication and does not reproduce content from any single source.