Mumbai, Sep 11 : The Indian stock market settled with gains on Thursday after a slow start in the morning trade, continuing the winning streak for the fourth consecutive day this week.

Sensex ended the session at 81,548.73, up 123.58 points or 0.15 per cent. The 30-share index started the session a bit lower at 81,217.30 against last session's closing of 81,425.15. However, the index bounced back into green amid a mixed approach. The index hit an intra-day high at 81,642, up over 400 points as compared to the day's low.

Nifty closed at 25,005.50, up 32.40 points or 0.13 per cent.

"The Nifty50 index has closed above the critical threshold of 25,000. The unexpected imposition of a 50 per cent tariff on India by the US initially dragged the main index down to 24,400. However, the index has been steadily recovering from this decline," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Limited.

This resurgence can be attributed to several factors, like expectation of limited impact on the domestic economy, the Indian government's robust strategic response to US long-term policies, and the announcement of significant domestic reforms, such as the GST, to mitigate trade-related repercussions, he added.

NTPC, Axis Bank, Eternal, PowerGrid, Bharti Airtel, Sun Pharma, SBI, Asian Paints and TCS were the top gainers from the Sensex basket. Infosys, Titan, Ultratech Cement, Hindustan Unilever, BEL, Trent, Tata Motors, and Tech Mahindra settled lower.

The majority of sectoral indices edged higher amid a mixed approach. Nifty Fin Services jumped 54 points or 0.21 per cent, Nifty Bank escalated 133 points or 0.24 per cent, and Nifty FMCG ended the session 103 points or 0.18 per cent higher. While Nifty Auto and Nifty IT declined.

Broader indices remained range-bound amid timid investors' sentiment. Nifty Small Cap 100 and Nifty Midcap 100 ended flat, while Nifty Next 50 and Nifty 100 settled in positive territory.

Rupee traded weakly by 0.35 per cent at 88.40 amid mixed FII flows and a firmer dollar index.

"Focus remains on the US CPI data, which could drive volatility in the dollar and, in turn, the rupee. Crude prices stayed volatile but hovered in lower zones, offering partial support," said Jateen Trivedi of LKP Securities.

Market sentiment remains tied to updates on the US-India trade deal, which could trigger sharper moves. For now, the rupee can be seen trading within 87.85'88.10 as support and 88.55'88.70 as resistance, analysts added.

/IANS