Indian share benchmarks log best day in four months on global AI slump

Indian equity benchmarks registered their strongest session in four months on Thursday, according to Business Recorder, as hopes grew that foreign investors could return after global AI-linked stocks fell. The Nifty 50 rose 1.66 per cent to 22,997.35, while the BSE Sensex added 2.11 per cent to 74,315.61. Eleven of 16 major sectors advanced, while the broader small-cap and mid-cap indices fell 1.3 and 0.4 per cent respectively.

Foreign investors have withdrawn a record $32.7 billion from equities this year, putting 2026 on course to be the weakest year for the Nifty 50 since 2011. Investors have favoured AI-heavy markets over India, which is Asia's third-largest economy. On Thursday, persistent US inflation data raised bets on further rate hikes and deepened concerns about the worldwide AI spending cycle. South Korea's KOSPI ended at its lowest level in six months after chipmaker selling triggered a circuit breaker, and Japan's Nikkei 225 slid about 5 per cent.

Sunny Agrawal of SBICAPS Securities said a reversal in the AI trade could push foreign funds toward non-AI markets such as India, where large-cap shares would gain most. IT stocks rose 1.8 per cent after better-than-expected earnings from TCS and HCLTech, while Reliance Industries and Bharti Airtel gained 3.4 and 3.3 per cent respectively following a Jio Platforms announcement of an IPO that is India's largest.