Equities staged a smart recovery on Wednesday, with both the benchmark indices gaining more than 1% each, snapping a three-day losing streak. Taking a cue from other Asian markets, the Sensex jumped 874.94 points, or 1.11%, to 79468.01 while the Nifty 50 rose 304.95 points, or 1.27%, to 24297.50.
The broader markets outperformed, with the BSE Midcap gaining 2.63% and the BSE Smallcap rising 2.39%. Investors wealth surged by nearly Rs 9 trillion to Rs 448.6 trillion. The market breadth was in favour of advances, as there were three gainers for every loser.
The sentiment was also lifted by the government’s relief on capital gains tax for property sales. Taxpayers can choose between a 12.5% tax rate without indexation and a tax rate of 20% with indexation when paying capital gains tax for properties acquired before July 23, 2024.
Following Monday’s global selloff, Goldman Sachs Asset Management expressed optimism about India and South Korea. The firm is bullish on South Korean shares and AI-related stocks in the region, as well as Indian companies in sectors like auto ancillaries, chemicals and power equipment, a Bloomberg report said.
Although a tad cautious at the moment, renowned market strategist Chris Wood of Jefferies said on a television channel on Wednesday that India remains by far the best equity story in the region and globally on a 10-year frame. Wood said despite the “extraordinary resilience” of the Indian markets, he was tactically cautious on India. “If I was investing and if I had a mandate to invest $100 in India right now, I would put only one-third of the amount, because the overwhelming likelihood is that we need to see a bit more of a correction,” Wood told CNBC Asia in an interaction. “The remaining two-thirds ($100 allocation to India) – I am keeping that in cash,” Wood added.
Except China, other Asian markets gained more than 1%, with Taiex of Taiwan leading the pack, surging 3.87%. South Korea’s Kospi gained 1.83%, Singapore’s STI and Philippine’s PSEi climbed 1.6% each and Japan’s Nikkei was up 1.19%.
Markets round the globe have seen a rebound following a reassurance from the Bank of Japan that it would not raise interest rates during a period of financial instability. The unravelling of the yen carry trade, while not entirely behind the markets, is believed to be largely in control, experts noted.
Back home, Wednesday’s trade saw broad-based buying across sectors, especially real estate. All the BSE sectoral indices closed in the green, with oil and gas, metal and energy leading the charge by recording gains of over 3% each.