Indian benchmark equity indices rebounded on Thursday, rising more than 1% intraday as value buying emerged after Wednesday’s sharp sell-off triggered by renewed US-Iran tensions and a spike in crude oil prices. However, profit booking in the final hours of trade erased much of the early gains.
The Sensex climbed 823.05 points, or 1.08%, to an intraday high of 77,326.65 before settling at 76,741.82, up 238.22 points, or 0.31%. The Nifty rose 252.65 points, or 1.06%, to reclaim the 24,000 mark and touch an intraday high of 24,134.70 before closing at 23,962.80, up 80.75 points, or 0.34%.
The broader market outperformed the benchmarks, with the BSE MidCap and SmallCap indices advancing 1.35% and 1.77%, respectively.
Investors recouped more than half of Wednesday’s losses as the BSE’s total market capitalisation increased by Rs 4.71 lakh crore to Rs 475.94 lakh crore. On Wednesday, investor wealth had declined by Rs 8.97 lakh crore.
“Indian equities showed resilience today despite global volatility and escalating geopolitical tensions in West Asia,” said Siddhartha Khemka, Head of Research, Wealth Management, Motilal Oswal Financial Services.
“While the near-term market direction may remain mixed, strong domestic fundamentals are expected to support the broader recovery,” he added.
Global Geopolitical Volatility
“Markets ended higher after yesterday’s slump, although gains were capped by profit-taking in the closing hours. A recovery in several global indices supported local sentiment, but investors turned cautious ahead of TCS’s quarterly earnings announcement later in the day,” said Ankur Punj, MD & Business Head, Equirus Wealth.
“Traders will closely monitor volatility in global crude oil prices and the movement of the rupee, especially after the US declared that the ceasefire with Iran had ended,” he added.
Positive Market Breadth
Market breadth remained positive, with 2,825 stocks advancing against 1,424 declining on the BSE.
According to provisional exchange data, foreign portfolio investors sold shares worth Rs 532.86 crore, while domestic institutional investors were net buyers to the tune of Rs 2,057.79 crore.
Among sectoral indices, realty, consumer durables and PSU banks led the gains.
