Bargain Hunt Snaps 2-Day Fall

Mumbai: Benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty rebounded on Tuesday after sliding for the past two sessions, driven by intense buying in blue-chip stocks like Reliance Industries, ICICI Bank and L&T amid a firm trend in global markets. However, a decline in IT stocks ahead of the earnings season and depreciating rupee against the greenback restricted the market rally, traders said. In a range-bound trade, the 30-share BSE benchmark Sensex climbed 234.12 points or 0.30 per cent to settle at 78,199.11. During the day, it jumped 487.75 points or 0.62 per cent to 78,452.74. The NSE Nifty gained 91.85 points or 0.39 per cent to 23,707.90.

“Amid positive global cues indicating no major concerns regarding HMPV, the domestic market partially recovered from yesterday’s sharp sell-off but traded within a range ahead of the critical first advance estimates for India’s FY25 GDP. This comes in the context of moderated growth expectations, as the RBI recently revised its growth projection downwards. In the near term, the market is expected to remain cautious, awaiting signs of earnings recovery during the upcoming result season, while also dealing with ongoing FII selling, which is driven by the strengthening dollar, rising US bond yields, and reduced expectations of further rate cuts,” Vinod Nair, head (research), Geojit Financial Services.

The BSE smallcap gauge jumped 1.74 per cent, and the midcap index climbed 0.77 per cent.

“Despite the respite, markets continue to face significant selling pressure during recovery attempts, indicating that bears remain in control,” added Ajit Mishra, Sr V-P (research), Religare Broking Ltd.

Among BSE sectoral indices, energy jumped 1.55 per cent, oil & gas surged 1.47 per cent, industrials (1.43 per cent), commodities (1.34 per cent), and services (1.19 per cent). On the other hand, IT and tech were the laggards.

“Traders should closely monitor these levels while keeping an eye on global factors, particularly developments related to the HMPV virus. As we move forward, a couple of lacklustre sessions, similar to today, might be on the cards for the index. In such scenarios, focusing on stock-specific opportunities could be a prudent strategy. With the earnings season underway and the budget session approaching, both bullish and bearish opportunities are likely to emerge,” said Rajesh Bhosale, technical analyst, Angel One Ltd.

“This optimism reflected gains across Asian markets, buoyed by Wall Street’s upbeat performance and expectations of a more tempered trade policy from the incoming Trump administration,” said Devarsh Vakil, head (prime research), HDFC Securities.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs2,575.06 crore on Monday, according to exchange data.

From the 30-share blue-chip pack, Tata Motors, Reliance Industries, ICICI Bank, Asian Paints, Nestle India, UltraTech Cement, Larsen &Toubro and Adani Ports were among the biggest gainers. In contrast, Zomato, HCL Tech, Tata Consultancy Services, Tech Mahindra, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Infosys were among the losers.