Market staged a determined comeback as the benchmark BSE Sensex on Tuesday rallied over 328 points and reclaimed the 26,000-mark to close at about a 4-month high, tracking a recovery in global stocks and oil prices.
Corporate earnings set the ball rolling as blue-chips' quarterly numbers were mostly in line. Investors got their confidence level back with a higher opening in Europe as the US Federal Reserve went into its latest policy meeting, brokers said. The Bank of Japan is also due to meet this week. Foreign inflows continued unabated, which helped. The NSE Nifty topped the psychological 7,900.
Major Asian indices closed mixed tracking the overnight gains on the Wall Street, which made European shares rule strong in early trade. The 30-share barometer stayed in the red in early part of the session, but staged a spectacular rally to erase all the losses after all-round buying. It ended up 328.37 points, or 1.28 per cent, at 26,007.30 -- its highest closing since January 1.
The index has lost 201.45 points over the past two days. The broader NSE Nifty soared 107.60 points, or 1.37 per cent, to close the day at 7,962.65 after shuttling between 7,822.55 and 7,973.05. The rupee, at 66.52, notched up gains against the dollar, which spurred the bulls.
“Fourth quarter results season has kicked off and has managed to meet market expectations for most sectors till now,” said Hiren Dhakan, Associate Fund Manager, Bonanza Portfolio.
The session belonged to Maruti Suzuki, which climbed 3.62 per cent despite a drop in its quarterly profit. Net sales rose 12.5 per cent, which pushed up the stock. Tata Steel, Cipla, BHEl, lupin and Axis Bank too gained.