Sensex up over 696 pts at closing, Nifty rises above 17,300 amid volatility

Benchmark indices rebounded sharply from early losses to close over 1 per cent higher on Tuesday.

Market opened on a muted note amid weak global cues and slumped further during the morning trade amid concerns over rising crude oil prices. Indices closed higher, witnessing buying activity across multiple counters.

The BSE Sensex closed at 57,989.30, up 696.81 points or 1.22 per cent. It recorded an intraday high of 58,052.87 and a low of 56,930.30. The Nifty 50 closed at 17,315.50, up 197.90 points or 1.16 per cent, near the day’s high of 17,334.40. It recorded an intraday low of 17,006.30.

Breadth favours decliners

The market breadth, however, remained in favour of the decliners with 1,780 stocks declining on the BSE as against 1,629 that advanced while 104 remained unchanged. Furthermore, 19 stocks hit the upper circuit as compared to the two stocks that were locked in the lower circuit. Besides, 127 stocks touched a 52-week high and 35 touched a 52-week low.

Rahul Sharma, head of research at Equity 99, said, “We witnessed a good rebound in markets, driven by buying in Reliance and HDFC. Market recovery after the morning fall is a good sign for Indian market.

“In the coming days, we still expect volatility to persist till the war situation between Russia and Ukraine and crude prices stabilise. Investors need to keep a close watch on rising Covid cases in recent times, as we might see a third wave in the coming days.”

Market is closely watching developments and looking for clarity on the Russia-Ukraine crisis and US Fed, as per analysts.

Vinod Nair, head of research at Geojit Financial Services, said, "The domestic market started with a negative bias, taking cues from rising crude prices and hawkish signals from Fed on aggressive policy tightening. However, the trend reversed as European markets opened on a positive note, buoyed by hope that Ukraine may consider working towards a truce."

Tech Mahindra, BPCL, Tata Motors, Reliance and Bajaj Finserv were the top gainers in the Nifty 50 while Hindustan Unilever, Nestle India, Britannia, Cipla and Eicher Motor were the top laggards.

FMCG, realty, pharma drag

On the sectoral front, while FMCG, realty and pharma dragged, IT, auto, oil and gas, and financials gained focus.

Nifty Realty was down over 1 per cent at closing. Nifty FMCG and Nifty Consumer Durables closed 0.7 per cent lower each. Nifty Pharma and Nifty Healthcare Index were each down nearly 0.3 per cent.

Meanwhile, Nifty IT and Nifty Oil & Gas closed nearly 2 per cent higher each. Nifty Auto was up over 1 per cent. Nifty Bank, Nifty Financial Services and Nifty Private Bank were each up nearly 1 per cent.

Broader indices

Broader market also rebounded, with broader indices closing in the green.

Nifty Midcap 50 was up 0.40 per cent while Nifty Smallcap 50 was up 0.55 per cent. The S&P BSE Midcap was up 0.17 per cent while the S&P BSE Smallcap was up 0.15 per cent.

The volatility index softened 2.24 per cent to 24.07.

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