Sensex recovers over 800 points from day's low, ends 230 points higher; PSU banks shine

Mumbai: After diving as much as 600 points at open, equity benchmark Sensex erased losses in the afternoon trade led by gains in index-heavyweights HDFC twins, HUL and RIL amid a steep correction in global equities.

The 30-share BSE index surged over 800 points from the day’s low to end at 52,574.46, up 230.01 or 0.44%. Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty closed 63.15 points or 0.40% higher at 15,746.50.

In the previous session, Sensex ended 21.12 points or 0.04 per cent higher at 52,344.45, while Nifty inched 8.05 points or 0.05 per cent lower to 15,683.35.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net buyers in the capital market as they purchased shares worth Rs 2,680.57 crore on Friday, as per provisional exchange data.

“Indian markets started on a negative note following negative Asian market peers with Japan’s Nikkei 225 briefly plunging 4%. The moves come as investors continue to digest new economic projections from the Federal Reserve and worry that rate hikes could come sooner than expected. During the afternoon session, Indian equity benchmarks continued their lackluster trade as traders were also worried as private report projected real GDP growth of 8.7% in FY22, down from 11.1% it had forecast earlier. However, it revised up the FY23 forecast from 4% to 5.4%. In the closing session, markets attempted to scale back from its lows and traded in green marginally. The move was led by Banks, Financials, Metals and Realty stocks,” said Narendra Solanki, Head- Equity Research (Fundamental), Anand Rathi Shares & Stock Brokers.

Gainers and losers

NTPC, closing over 4% higher was the top Sensex gainer, followed by Titan, SBI, Tata Steel, and HDFC Ltd., up over 1% each. Tech Mahindra, Maruti and and TCS, closing nearly 1% lower, were among the laggards.

Sectoral update

Most sectoral indices on the NSE, except Nifty Auto and Nifty IT, settled in the green. Nifty PSU Bank, closing over 4% higher was the top sectoral gainer, followed by Nifty Realty, up over 3% and Nifty Metal, up over 1%.

Global update

Global stocks dropped to a four-week low on Monday after last week’s surprise hawkish shift by the U.S. Federal Reserve reduced the allure of riskier assets, while the dollar held gains and stood near a 10-week high.

Meanwhile, China kept its benchmark lending rate unchanged. China on Monday announced that the one-year Loan Prime Rate (LPR) was kept unchanged at 3.85% while the five-year LPR was also held steady at 4.65%.