Market rebounds as bulls return amid firm global cues

Mumbai: Stock markets regained footing on Tuesday after the previous session's massive selloff, tracking renewed buying interest in financial, bank and auto counters amid firm global cues.

Participants also cheered the government's decision to fast-track approval for foreign-produced Covid-19 vaccines. Russia's Sputnik V vaccine has received emergency use authorisation in India, paving the way for the third coronavirus vaccine in the country.

However, the Covid-19 situation remains worrisome and will determine market trajectory in the near term, traders said. Building on a positive start, the 30-share BSE Sensex gained momentum in late-afternoon trade to close 660.68 points or 1.38 per cent higher at 48,544.06.

On similar lines, the broader NSE Nifty surged 194 points or 1.36 per cent to finish at 14,504.80. M&M was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rallying 8.02 per cent, followed by Bajaj Finserv, Bajaj Finance, Maruti, IndusInd Bank, ICICI Bank, ONGC and Axis Bank. On the other hand, TCS was the biggest laggard, slumping 4.21 per cent, a day after reporting its March quarter results.

The country's largest tech exporter on Monday reported a 14.9 per cent jump in consolidated net profit for the March quarter to Rs 9,246 crore, but posted a marginal increase in reported post-tax profit at Rs 32,430 crore for FY21. Dr Reddy's, Tech Mahindra, HCL Tech, Infosys and Nestle India were among the other losers, shedding up to 4.18 per cent. Market attempted to pull back from yesterday's selloff but wasn't that enthusiastic. IT sector broke the trend due to profit booking as initial Q4 results were in line with expectations not providing enough leeway to a highly valued sector.

"While Industrial production for February declined by 3.6 per cent primarily due to contraction in the manufacturing and mining sectors, India's retail inflation for March also rose to 5.52 per cent. However, it did not harm the market sentiment as it was in line with the recent RBI policy forecast. How the lockdowns will affect the economy will determine the trend of the domestic market, in the short-term," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.