The Sensex rebounded 879 points to close at 72,472.33 and the Nifty gained 289 points to 22,520.45 on October 9, snapping a two-day losing streak as IT stocks rallied and crude prices eased.
Three forces worked together. TCS’s better-than-expected September quarter results lifted IT stocks, crude oil eased from $105.02 to below $103, and reports pointed to value buying and short covering after the correction.
The leadership was narrow. The Nifty IT index rose 3.02% and the Nifty FMCG index 2.20%, while Reliance Industries was the only major Sensex laggard.
The recovery is partial: the Sensex had fallen about 1,475 points between October 6 and October 8, and it regained 879 of them.
The RBI’s rate hike, oil and foreign selling remain the background, and this report is not investment advice.
Apollo Hospitals, ITC and Eicher Motors were the top Nifty gainers, according to Business Standard.
Among Sensex stocks, ITC, TCS, Adani Ports, Infosys and HCL Tech were the major gainers, and ITC rose 4.78%.
Reliance Industries was the only major Sensex laggard, with its shares falling 0.55%.
Global crude prices were trading below $103 a barrel on Friday, after reaching $105.02 a barrel on the previous evening.
Lower oil eased concerns over inflation and corporate profits.
Reduced fears of an immediate escalation between the US and Iran also helped restore risk appetite, according to one report.
Another report attributed the rebound to value buying and short covering after the sharp correction.
At 1 pm the Sensex was up 828 points, and at 3 pm it was up about 1,043 points before easing at the close.
In the closing auction session, the Nifty was at 22,535.65, which is why the headline figure differs from the settled 22,520.45.
The RBI had raised the repo rate by 25 basis points to 5.50% on October 7, its first hike since February 2023.
National Stock Exchange of India, Mumbai (file image), Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0