Indian shares swing to gains after volatile closing auction; Mideast cloud lingers

Indian stocks ticked up on Thursday following a turbulent closing auction, even as the Middle East conflict escalated and Brent crude topped $102 a barrel.

According to Business Recorder, the Nifty 50 closed 0.2% firmer at 23,477.8, while the BSE Sensex advanced 0.19% to 74,902.59. Both indexes had briefly risen above 1% during the auction, a sharp swing from the slight loss seen once regular trading finished at 3:15 p.m. IST.

Expiry of weekly Sensex derivatives contracts was expected to add to volatility, and the closing auction, launched in early August, has magnified late-session moves because liquidity is thinner. Regular trading stayed mostly flat, and eight out of 16 major sectors closed lower. Over September they have shed 2.5% and 2.7% respectively, with losses in six of eight days so far this month. Iran claimed strikes on 10 vessels around the Strait of Hormuz, following a U.S. action that sank five of its oil tankers, which the report described as the heaviest shipping attacks of the six-month conflict. V K Vijayakumar, chief investment strategist at Geojit Investment, said the market looks exposed to a further correction and that macro trends are weakening. ONGC rose 1.4%, a move the report linked to higher crude prices lifting revenue and margins for oil producers.