Stock Markets Climb in Early Trade Amid Drop in Oil Prices

• Sensex rose 352.22 points to 76,220.02 and Nifty gained 95.65 points to 24,002.80 in early Friday trade

• Brent crude dropped 1.12% to $92.66/barrel on reports of US-Iran 60-day ceasefire extension pending final Trump approval

• Infosys, Trent, HCL Tech, TCS, and Maruti led gainers; Bharti Airtel, ITC, BEL, and InterGlobe Aviation were laggards

Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty climbed in early trade on Friday following a decline in crude oil prices on reports that the US and Iran reached an understanding to extend the ceasefire for another 60 days.

Buying in IT stocks and a positive trend in global markets also added to the optimism.

The 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 352.22 points to 76,220.02 in early trade. The 50-share NSE Nifty went up by 95.65 points to 24,002.80.

From the 30-Sensex firms, Infosys, Trent, HCL Tech, Tata Consultancy Services and Maruti were among the gainers.

Bharti Airtel, ITC, Bharat Electronics and InterGlobe Aviation were among the laggards.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, traded 1.12% lower at $92.66 per barrel.

"There are some positive trends on the economic and market front. Brent crude declining to below $93 is a big positive. This has happened on expectations of a deal between the US and Iran. Therefore, if a deal happens crude can decline further, thereby improving India’s macros which have been under pressure from the energy crisis," VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments Limited, said.

In Asian markets, South Korea's benchmark Kospi, Japan's Nikkei 225 index and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index were trading higher, while Shanghai's SSE Composite index quoted lower.

US markets ended higher on Thursday.

Reports indicate that the United States and Iran have agreed to a 60-day truce renewal, pending final approval from US President Donald Trump, Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money, an online trading and wealth-tech firm, said.

"Although formal confirmation is still awaited, the development has significantly improved global risk sentiment and raised hopes of sustained de-escalation in the Middle East," he added.

Stock markets were closed on Thursday for Eid-ul-Azha.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth ₹1,042.70 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data.

On Wednesday, the Sensex declined 141.90 points, or 0.19%, to settle at 75,867.80. The Nifty skidded 6.55 points, or 0.03%, to end at 23,907.15.