Markets stage a comeback
Rupee spurts 31 paise to nearly 2-week high against USD;
Mumbai: Market benchmarks clawed back some lost ground on Tuesday after two days of heavy declines as investors made a cautious return to energy, IT and finance stocks amid supportive global cues.
A sharp recovery in the rupee further fuelled the rebound, traders said. The 30-share BSE Sensex opened strong and rallied to 56,900, before paring some gains to close at 56,319.01, up 497 points or 0.89 per cent. Similarly, the NSE Nifty advanced 156.65 points or 0.94 per cent to 16,770.85. HCL Tech was the top performer in the Sensex pack, spurting 3.91 per cent, followed by Wipro, Tata Steel, Tech Mahindra, UltraTech Cement, Titan and Sun Pharma.
On the other hand, PowerGird, Axis Bank, Bajaj Finance, SBI, M&M, Kotak Bank and HDFC closed with losses of up to 1.50 per cent.
The market breadth was in favour of the bulls, with 23 advances compared to seven declines. All sectoral indices ended on a positive note, with BSE metal, consumer durables, basic materials, telecom, teck and IT indices climbing up to 2.99 per cent. Broader BSE midcap and smallcap indices rose up to 1.43 per cent. World stocks rebounded from the recent Omicron-triggered hammering even as investors monitored updates on the new strain.
Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Seoul ended with gains.
Stock exchanges in Europe were also trading on a positive note in mid-session deals.
Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude slipped 0.07 per cent to $71.47 per barrel.
The rupee surged by 31 paise to close at 75.59 against the US dollar on Tuesday as positive domestic equities and a weak American currency in the overseas markets boosted investor sentiment.
Foreign institutional investors remained net sellers in the capital market on Monday, as they offloaded shares worth Rs 3,565.36 crore, according to exchange data. agencies