Indian stock market indices Sensex and Nifty made staged a sharp intraday recovery to finish with over 1% gains, riding on advances in Reliance Industries, Infosys and TCS. Positive European markets also helped the recovery. After opening lower, the 30-share BSE Sensex had plunged to a day's low of 56,930 on concerns over inflation as India hiked fuel prices after a 137-day hiatus.
However, the barometer rebounded in afternoon trade in line with gains in European and Asian stocks. The BSE Sensex closed up by 696.81 points at 57,989.30 as 26 of its constituents ended in green. The broader NSE Nifty climbed 197.90 points or 1.16% to finish at 17,315.50.
“A bout of short covering helped Nifty to rise more than 300 points intraday lows on report that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was prepared to discuss a commitment from Ukraine not to seek NATO membership in exchange for a cease-fire, the withdrawal of Russian troops and a guarantee of Ukraine’s security. Market players were also enthused by the statement of the Reserve Bank of India that it will ensure ample liquidity to support the recovery of its economy, signaling above-target inflation was not as much of a threat," said Devarsh Vakil - Deputy Head Retail Research, HDFC Securities on today’s market performance.
Index heavyweight Reliance surged by 2.5% on back of news reports that Singapore GRM has risen to $12.54/bbl vs 5-Day Average of $7.76/bbl, Mr Vakil said.
Gains in the broader market were marginal compared to the benchmark index, with the BSE midcap index gaining 0.17% and smallcap gauge 0.15%.
Tech Mahindra emerged as the lead gainer with a jump of 3.83 per cent, followed by RIL (2.59 per cent), Bajaj Finserv (2.46 per cent), ITC (2.21 per cent), TCS (2.09 per cent), Kotak Mahindra Bank (1.88 per cent) and Infosys (1.87 per cent).
In contrast, Hindustan Unilever Limited, Nestle India, NTPC, and Sun Pharma were the laggards.
“After a decisive upside breakout of the important cluster resistance of around 16800-17000 levels recently, the present downward correction has halted at the previous broken resistance of 17000 levels and witnessed sharp upside bounce today. This could be considered as a validation of recent upside breakout of the cluster resistance and it opens more upside for the short term," said Nagaraj Shetti, Technical Research Analyst, HDFC Securities.
“The overall chart pattern indicate next upside of around 17500 in the short term and one may expect further upside targets of around 17800-18000 levels in the near term. Immediate support is placed at 17200," he added.
“We reiterate our positive yet cautious view on markets amid global uncertainty. A decisive break above 17,350 in Nifty would pave for a further surge towards 17,500-17,700 levels. And, we feel the banking pack holds the key from hereon. Participants should align their positions accordingly," said Ajit Mishra, VP - Research, Religare Broking. (With Agency Inputs)
