The benchmark BSE Sensex surged by 740 points on Wednesday, marking a strong recovery in the Indian stock markets. The index rose 1.01%, closing at 73,730.23, after gaining as much as 943.87 points or 1.29% during the day, hitting an intra-day high of 73,933.80. The broader Nifty index, which had faced a 10-day losing streak, also rebounded, rising 254.65 points or 1.15% to settle at 22,337.30. At one point during the day, it gained 312.25 points, reaching a high of 22,394.90.
This impressive rally was largely driven by value buying in utilities and power stocks, as well as a positive trend in global markets. Several key stocks in the Sensex pack saw significant gains, including Adani Ports, Tata Steel, Power Grid, Mahindra & Mahindra, NTPC, Tech Mahindra, Tata Motors, ITC, Nestle India, HCL Technologies, Bharti Airtel, State Bank of India, Asian Paints, and Kotak Mahindra Bank.
In contrast, some major stocks such as Bajaj Finance, IndusInd Bank, HDFC Bank, and Zomato were among the day’s laggards.
Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research) at Mehta Equities Ltd, attributed the recovery to strong global market cues. He noted that positive sentiment was further bolstered by reports that the Trump administration could reverse some tariffs amidst ongoing global trade tensions, which fueled optimism in both global and domestic markets. Additionally, India’s services sector showed robust performance in February, with the HSBC India Services PMI Business Activity Index rising to 59.0 from January’s 26-month low of 56.5. This sharp increase was driven by stronger domestic and international demand, leading to faster output growth and a significant rise in employment.
In the global markets, Asian indices including Tokyo, Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Seoul all closed higher, while European markets were also trading in the green. However, Wall Street ended lower on Tuesday, reflecting mixed investor sentiment. Meanwhile, global oil prices softened, with Brent crude falling 0.49% to USD 70.69 a barrel.
Despite the positive trends, Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) continued to offload equities, selling off Rs 3,405.82 crore worth of stocks on Tuesday, according to exchange data. This ongoing sell-off raises concerns about the long-term stability of the market, even as short-term optimism remains high.
Overall, Wednesday’s market performance marked a welcome break from the recent bearish trend, highlighting a potential turning point as both global and domestic factors play a pivotal role in shaping market sentiment.
