Markets bounce back after 5-day rout; Sensex jumps 574 points

PTI

Mumbai, April 20

Benchmark indices bounced back on Wednesday after falling for five straight sessions, with the Sensex climbing 574.35 points, helped by buying in Reliance Industries and recovery in Infosys, TCS and HDFC twins.

A largely positive trend in global equities also helped the benchmarks get back on their feet.

Halting its five-day fall, the BSE Sensex jumped 574.35 points or 1.02 per cent to finish at 57,037.50. During the day, the index rallied 753.36 points or 1.33 per cent to 57,216.51.

The NSE Nifty surged 177.90 points or 1.05 per cent to 17,136.55.

“With support from recovery in beaten-down HDFC stocks and the IT sector, the market countered yesterday’s selloff. Foreign investors are pumping out funds in large quantities while support from DIIs is helping the market to partially balance the pressure,” according to Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

From the 30-share Sensex pack, UltraTech Cement, Maruti, Reliance Industries, Asian Paints, TCS, Hindustan Unilever Limited, Bharti Airtel, HDFC and Dr Reddy’s were among the major gainers.

In contrast, Bajaj Finance, ICICI Bank, Bajaj Finserv, Tata Steel and ITC were among the prominent laggards.

Both the benchmark indices had closed in the red for the fifth straight session on Tuesday. Sensex had lost a hefty 2,984.03 points in five sessions, while the Nifty shed 825.70 points.

Elsewhere in Asia, markets in Hong Kong, Seoul and Shanghai settled lower, while Tokyo ended with gains.

Markets in Europe were trading higher in the afternoon session.

Stocks in the US had ended significantly higher on Tuesday.

International oil benchmark Brent crude gained 0.89 per cent to USD 108.2 per barrel.

Foreign institutional investors continued their selling spree, offloading shares worth a net Rs 5,871.69 crore on Tuesday, according to stock exchange data.