Markets: With cautious optimism, Sensex, Nifty recover, gain 1.5%
Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: Sensing that the escalating tariff war between the US and China could benefit India, equity markets, which suffered a massive 3 percent loss on Monday, bounced back on Tuesday as investors tried to heave a sigh of relief amid a raging financial market tsunami worldwide.
Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty, which rebounded from their overnight lows in the morning session on Tuesday, consolidated their gains by afternoon. While Sensex gained 1089.18 points (1.49 percent) to close at 74227.08, Nifty50 was up 378.75 (1.74 percent), closing at 22540.35.
Amid hope that the ongoing US-India trade talks could yield positive results on the tariff issue, bourses snapped the three-day losing streak on Tuesday. Indian benchmark equity indices BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty50 jumped around 1.5 per cent each, rebounding from previous session’s losses.
Mirroring the Asian peers, while the 30-stock Sensex and Nifty50 gained significantly, in the broader markets, BSE Midcap and Smallcap also jumped around 1.87 per cent and 2.18 per cent, respectively.
Sectors-wise, the Nifty Financial Services, FMCG, IT, PSU Bank, Auto, and Realty indices advanced up to 2 percent.
Among the Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei 225 surged 6 percent, Shanghai Composite Index was up 1.58 percent, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose 1.51 percent on Tuesday.
Except for PowerGrid, all the Sensex constituents closed with gains. Among the top gainers were Titan up by 3.25 percent, Bajaj Finance up 3.21 percent, Larsen & Toubro up 3.07 percent, State Bank of India up 3 percent, and Axis Bank up by 2.91 percent.
Apart from global indicators, investors are awaiting the Reserve Bank of India’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting’s decision scheduled for tomorrow, along with India Inc’s Q4 earning and macroeconomic data set to unfold later in the week.
However, analysts suggest that the RBI’s likely 25-basis points (bps) rate cut on Wednesday may not provide the necessary upside trigger to the markets as investors remain fixated on the broader impact of the escalating US-led trade war.
Stocks advanced on BSE were 3,097 against 817 stocks that declined, and 125 remained unchanged. Total stocks traded were 4,039.
The number of stocks recording a 52-week high was 48, and those that hit a 52-week low was 54. A total of 243 stocks traded in the upper circuit, and 185 in the lower circuit.
Shares of Titan, Shriram Finance, Infosys, Eicher Motors, and L&T led the gainers among Nifty 50 components, while only Trent shares slipped to trade in trade at the time of writing. The Nifty Smallcap 100 Index rose 2.02 percent to 15,372.05 and Nifty midcap 100 rose 1.89 percent to 49,733. India VIX was down 9.84 percent to 20.55.
