Sensex climbs 332.63, Nifty ends 23,217

Market benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty rebounded on Wednesday on value buying after falling sharply in the previous session, with bank stocks driving the rally in equities.

The 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 332.63 points, or 0.45 per cent, to settle at 74,336.45. During the day, it jumped 502.04 points, or 0.67 per cent, to 74,505.86.

The 50-share NSE Nifty was up 99 points, or 0.43 per cent, to end at 23,217.60.

Among the 30 Sensex firms, ITC, State Bank of India, Axis Bank, Trent, Mahindra & Mahindra and Bharat Electronics were the major winners.

Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys, Tech Mahindra and Bajaj Finserv were among the laggards.

“Indian equities staged a measured recovery on Wednesday, supported by value buying in banking stocks and select heavyweight counters following Tuesday’s sharp decline. Bank Nifty led the rebound, reclaiming the 56,000 mark and providing the principal support to the benchmark indices,” Hariselvan Radhakrishnan, Founder and CEO of HST Wealth, a Research Analyst firm, said.

However, the recovery lacked strong momentum as Brent crude remained elevated between $107 and 108 a barrel and the US 10-year Treasury yield held near 5 per cent ahead of the Federal Reserve’s policy announcement, he added.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, dipped 0.83 per cent to USD 107.8 per barrel.

“Markets staged a recovery on Wednesday following the recent sharp sell-off, gaining nearly half a per cent and providing some respite from the prevailing weakness. The rebound was supported by buying in select heavyweight stocks. However, gains remained volatile amid elevated crude prices, global uncertainty and caution ahead of the US Federal Reserve’s policy decision,” Ajit Mishra, SVP Research, Religare Broking, said.

The BSE SmallCap Select index edged higher by 0.29 per cent and the MidCap Select index was up 0.26 per cent.

Among the BSE sectoral indices, Insurance jumped 2.05 per cent, FMCG 1.44 per cent, PSU Bank 1.14 per cent, Realty 0.95 per cent, Top 10 Banks 0.83 per cent, Oil & Gas 0.77 per cent and Energy 0.73 per cent.

Focused IT tanked 1.52 per cent, IT 1.42 per cent, Power 0.48 per cent, Housing Finance 0.37 per cent, Industrials 0.30 per cent and Hospitals 0.23 per cent.

“Indian equity benchmarks staged a rebound on Wednesday, recovering some of the previous session’s losses as value buying returned to select large-cap stocks. The Federal Reserve’s impending decision remained the dominant market catalyst,” Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money, an online trading and wealth tech firm, said.

In Asian markets, South Korea’s Kospi, Japan’s Nikkei 225, Shanghai’s SSE Composite index and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index ended in positive territory.

Markets in Europe were trading higher. US markets ended lower on Tuesday.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 2,977.86 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data.

On Tuesday, the Sensex tumbled 777.94 points, or 1.04 per cent, to settle at a three-month low of 74,003.82. The Nifty dropped 279.50 points, or 1.19 per cent, to end at 23,118.60, the lowest closing level since April 6.