Indian benchmark indices recovered sharply from intraday lows to close in the green for a second straight session on April 2, supported by late buying in banking and IT heavyweights despite weak global cues and a spike in crude oil prices.
The Sensex ended 185 points, or 0.25 percent, higher at 73,319.55, after rebounding 1,774 points from the day’s low of 71,545.81. The Nifty 50 rose 34 points, or 0.15 percent, to close at 22,713.10, recovering 531 points from its intraday low.
Buying in select large-cap stocks supported the late recovery
Key gainers included HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Infosys, TCS, HCL Tech and Tech Mahindra
Gains came ahead of the Q4 earnings season
TCS is set to announce its results on April 9, while HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank will report on April 18.
--BSE midcap index declined 0.24 percent
--BSE smallcap index edged up 0.05 percent
The rupee surged 171 paise (1.80 percent) to close at 93.10 against the dollar
It touched 92.835 during the session, marking its best performance since 2013
Gains followed recent RBI measures to curb speculative pressure
The sharp appreciation in the currency, along with value buying, helped markets recover in the latter half of the session.
IT index surged 2.60 percent, leading gains
Realty index rose over 1 percent
Bank and financial services indices posted modest gains
On the downside:
Consumer durables, oil and gas, healthcare and pharma indices fell 1 percent
Auto index declined 0.62 percent
Gainers
HCL Tech (up 3 percent)
Tech Mahindra
Tata Consumer Products
Losers
Asian Paints
Eicher Motors
Sun Pharma
24 Nifty stocks advanced, while 26 declined
Around 157 stocks hit 52-week lows on the BSE
Vodafone Idea
Ola Electric Mobility
YES Bank
Suzlon Energy
Reliance Power
Tata Gold ETF and Tata Silver ETF
Brent crude jumped over 7 percent to trade above $108 per barrel
Prices rose after US President Donald Trump’s speech offered no clarity on reopening the Strait of Hormuz
The sharp intraday rebound indicates continued buying interest at lower levels, though volatility is likely to persist amid global uncertainty and rising crude oil prices.
(By arrangement with livemint.com)