India’s BSE Sensex closed about 0.5% higher at 73,918 on Tuesday, snapping a two-session losing streak as investors reacted positively to a pause in Iran–Israel hostilities and supportive moves by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). Both Iran and Israel indicated they had halted military strikes against each other following an appeal by US President Trump, easing geopolitical tensions and triggering a pullback in oil prices.
At the same time, the RBI introduced a concessional foreign-exchange swap facility aimed at attracting more overseas dollars into the financial system. The move is expected to ease pressure on banks’ foreign-exchange positions by cutting FX holding costs, lowering funding expenses, and bolstering liquidity.
Buying was strong across banking and financial stocks. ICICI Bank and Axis Bank each gained around 2%, while SBI climbed 2.1% following reports of a planned listing of SBI General Insurance. Bajaj Finance advanced 1.8%. In the aviation sector, IndiGo jumped 4% after brokerages reiterated a positive medium-term outlook for the airline.
