Sensex snaps 4-day losing run, rebounds 581 pts; Nifty ends above 16,000

Snapping their four-session losing streak, domestic benchmark indices finally managed to gain some lost ground on Tuesday as traders looked past Russia’s attack on Ukraine and rushed to buy stocks at lower prices.

The entire session was choppy as global sentiments favoured bears. Pressured by weak global cues, indices opened with cuts but eventually staged a strong recovery lifted by IT, realty and pharma stocks, while metal and oil and gas indices were down 1 per cent each.

The 30-share pack Sensex rebounded 581 points or 1.10 per cent to close at 53,424.09. Its broader peer NSE Nifty50 rose 150 points or 0.95 per cent to reclaim the 16,000 mark.


Top Gainers & Losers
Sun Pharma and TCS were the top gainers as the market recovered in the last hour of trade, rising over 3.5 per cent each. NTPC, Dr Reddy's, Wipro, Ultratech Cement and Tech Mahindra were other top gainers.

Hindalco was the biggest loser in the Nifty pack, falling 4.59 per cent. ONGC, Tata Steel, JSW Steel, Britannia were other names that ended with cuts.

On the daily chart, a bullish engulfing pattern has formed which suggests short-term positive reversal

-Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities

Banks Lead Recovery
All Nifty Bank constituents closed higher, with ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank leading the pack. The index rose 1,003 points from lows, while BSE midcap and smallcap indices rose over 1 per cent each.

VIP Industries, Indian Bank, City Union Bank, PVR, Lux Industries, Mahanagar Gas were top gainers from mid and smallcap indices, rising in the range of 5-9 per cent.

JK Cement was the top midcap loser, down 18% in the last two sessions.

"Domestic indices reversed their trend and traded with gains led by export-oriented sectors like pharma and IT, which witnessed buying interest as the rupee fell to its record lows. Favourable exit poll results of state election and low-level buying seen in mid and small caps also helped in adding optimism in the domestic market," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

Major western markets were also trading in the green while other Asian peers continued to trade in negative territory on fear of the impact of global inflationary pressure due to the ban on Russia’s oil export, he added.

Investors' wealth jumped by over Rs 2.51 lakh crore, in tandem with a sharp recovery in equities. Meanwhile, Credit Suisse downgraded India to 'underweight' from 'overweight' and warned of potential risks that oil prices at $120 a barrel could add $60 billion to the country's import bill.

Market Breadth Favours Advances
Market breadth favoured bulls as about 2,178 shares advanced, 1,159 shares declined, and 90 shares remained unchanged. Only one stock tested its lower circuit limit, whereas none hit the upper limit.

Oil prices surged past $126 a barrel as the possibility of US sanctions against Russian oil exports spurred supply concerns.

Global Markets
US futures rallied along with stocks in Europe on Tuesday while the blue-chip FTSE 100 rose 0.2 per cent, supported by a 2.0 per cent and 2.6 per cent jump in bank and insurer stocks.

The London Metal Exchange suspended trading in nickel after a short squeeze drove prices 111 per cent higher. In Asia, mainland Chinese stocks lead losses, with the Shanghai Composite falling 2.35 per cent to close at 3,293.53.

The Hang Seng index slipped 1.71 per cent and the Nikkei 225 slipped 1.71 per cent to 24,790.95 — its lowest close since early November 2020.