Benchmark indices staged a sharp recovery on Tuesday riding on Reliance Industries and software stocks. RIL, along with Infosys and Tata Consultancy Services, contributed 54% to the Sensex gains on Tuesday. The Reserve Bank of India’s assurance on maintaining ample liquidity to support businesses also boosted investor sentiment.
Markets in Europe also began trading on a positive note, with key indices trading higher. In Asia, Hang Seng added as much as 3.2%, while KOSPI and Jakarta Composite gained 0.89% and 0.66%, respectively. Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) on Tuesday bought Indian equities worth $50.47 million while Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) sold stocks worth $79.03 million, provisional data from exchanges showed.
After falling 362 points in the morning, the BSE Sensex closed at 57,989.3 higher by 696.81 points or 1.2% — with 26 of its constituents ending higher on Tuesday. The broader Nifty50 ended higher by 197.90 points or 1.2% at 17,315.50 points.
In percentage terms, Tech Mahindra was the top gainer on Sensex, rising 3.8%, while heavyweight RIL surged 2.6%. That was followed by ITC and TCS with over 2% gains. Sectorally, barring pharma, FMCG, realty, consumer durables and healthcare witnessed buying interest, with Nifty IT and Oil & Gas indices rising about 2%.
“Markets are facing headwinds from the escalation in Ukraine conflict, rising oil prices and hawkish commentary from US Fed. Also, rise in the domestic retail fuel prices added to overall cautious sentiments,” said Siddhartha Khemka, head of retail research, Motilal Oswal Financial Services.
He further added that the market sentiment could be revived on any positive development on the Russia-Ukraine front. He further expects that above 17,350, Nifty can move towards 17,500-17,750 zone in the coming sessions. Currently, Nifty is up 1,644 points from its recent bottom of 15,671, hit on March 8.
However, the overall market breadth remained negative on Tuesday. Of the 3,513 stocks traded on the BSE, 1,858 stocks declined whereas 1,540 advanced. BSE Midcap and Smallcap rose marginally with upto 0.17% gains.