Benchmark equity indices ended higher on Tuesday, extending their rebound for the second straight session amid volatility on the weekly F&O expiry day. Optimism over an early India–US trade deal, the possible end of the US government shutdown, Goldman Sachs’s recent upgrade of India’s equity outlook, better-than-expected Q2 earnings, and short covering by traders contributed to the two-day rally.
After a weak start, the Sensex climbed 335.97 points (0.40%) to close at 83,871.32, while the Nifty rose 120.60 points (0.47%) to settle at 25,694.95. From the day’s low, the Sensex and Nifty rebounded 747.29 points (0.90%) and 245.70 points (0.97%), respectively.
In the previous session, the Sensex and Nifty had gained 319.07 points (0.38%) and 82.05 points (0.32%), respectively.
“The bulls regained control as markets witnessed a strong rebound from lower levels. The Nifty index broke above its short-term resistance at the 21-DMA near 25,660 and closed just below the 25,700 mark. The overall trend looks positive, and a decisive move above 25,800 could confirm a bullish breakout toward 26,000 levels,” said Nilesh Jain, Head – Technical and Derivatives Research, Centrum Broking.
“The support base has now shifted higher to around 25,450, making a buy-on-dips strategy suitable in the current volatile environment,” Jain added.
On the sectoral front, IT led the rally with a 2.66% gain over the past two sessions. TECK, capital goods, telecom, and industrials were the other top sectoral gainers, rising up to 2.56%, while realty and healthcare indices were the only laggards, posting modest declines.
Among individual stocks, HCL Technologies led the gains with a 4% rise over two sessions, followed by Infosys, InterGlobe Aviation (IndiGo’s parent), BEL, and Bharti Airtel, which advanced up to 3.59%. In contrast, Trent, Bajaj Finance, and Bajaj Finserv were the top laggards, falling up to 6.57% during the same period.
In the broader market, the BSE Midcap index advanced 0.82%, while the BSE Smallcap index declined 0.37% over the two sessions.
Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net buyers of equities worth ₹7,994 crore in the last two sessions, including ₹2,188 crore on Tuesday. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs), however, sold shares worth $658 million (₹5,838 crore).
Investor wealth rose by ₹2.6 lakh crore over the past two sessions to ₹468.91 lakh crore.