MUMBAI: With Brent crude sliding below the $90/barrel mark and WTI close to $85 on the back of the likely second round of peace talks between US and Iran, sensex rallied 753 points (1%) on Tuesday to close over the 79K mark, a level not seen for over six weeks. Market players, however, are cautious on the outcome of the ongoing diplomatic efforts.On Tuesday, sensex opened about 100 points higher, picked up gains through the session to an intra-day high at 79,367 points and closed just a tad off that high mark, at 79,273 points. Banking & financial services, and FMCG stocks led the day’s rally with HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and Axis Bank contributing the most to the index’s gain.On the NSE, Nifty too showed a similar trend and closed 212 points (0.9%) up at 24,577 points.According to Siddhartha Khemka of Motilal Oswal Financial Services, the current trend of gradual up move for the leading indices is expected to continue, backed by improving macros, easing crude, and strong Q4 earnings momentum from India Inc.“With the ceasefire deadline arriving (Wednesday evening), all eyes turn to the second round of US–Iran talks — while markets remain hopeful of progress, elevated tensions and uncertain participation make any negative surprise a key downside risk.”Khemka also warned that the flow of foreign funds remains equally important for the Indian market, with Monday’s selling after three consecutive days of buying a reminder that foreign flow reversal is not yet a done deal. Tuesday’s gains came despite a Rs 1,919-crore net selling by foreign funds, BSE data showed. On the other hand, domestic funds were net buyers at Rs 2,221 crore net inflow.
