Sensex, Nifty rebound as Reliance, ITC shares rally

MUMBAI: Benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty rebounded on Wednesday, propelled by bargain hunting in index majors Reliance Industries, ITC and SBI amid a largely firm trend in global equities.

However, a depreciating rupee and selling pressure in small-cap stocks restricted the gains, traders said.

In a highly volatile trade, the 30-share BSE Sensex rose 89.64 points or 0.12 per cent to settle at 72,101.69. During the day, it jumped 390.62 points or 0.54 per cent to 72,402.67. The benchmark hit its day's low of 71,674.42, down 337.63 points or 0.46 per cent.

The NSE Nifty climbed 21.65 points or 0.10 per cent to finish at 21,839.10.

"Lifted by favourable global sentiment and solid direct tax collection, Indian markets rebounded, closing with modest gains. Robust FII and DII inflows sustained the market.

"The US Fed is likely to delay the cut rate to the latter part of the year due to a resilient economy. Domestic mid and small caps are likely to lag large caps driven by premium valuations in the short-term," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services.

From the Sensex basket, Maruti, Nestle, Power Grid, State Bank of India, ITC, Reliance Industries, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Bajaj Finance, IndusInd Bank and Asian Paints were the major gainers.

In contrast, Tata Steel, Axis Bank, Tata Motors and HDFC Bank were among the laggards.

"Markets traded volatile and ended almost unchanged, taking a breather after Tuesday’s decline. After the initial uptick, it resumed decline in no time, however, recovery in select heavyweights pared losses as the session progressed," Ajit Mishra, SVP - Technical Research, Religare Broking Ltd, said.

In the broader market, the BSE midcap gauge climbed marginally by 0.05 per cent and smallcap index dipped 0.14 per cent.

Among the sectoral indices, energy jumped 1.09 per cent, oil & gas (1.07 per cent), power (0.92 per cent), telecommunication (0.61 per cent), auto (0.47 per cent) and utilities (0.45 per cent).

On the other hand, commodities, financial services, IT, metal and teck were the laggards.

"Nifty recovered losses to end higher on March 20. Asian shares closed mostly higher while European markets opened lower Wednesday as investors awaited the latest signals from the Federal Reserve on the timing of cuts to interest rates," said Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research, HDFC Securities.

In Asian markets, Seoul, Shanghai, and Hong Kong settled in positive territory.

Japanese stock exchanges were closed for a holiday.

European markets were trading on a mixed note.

Wall Street ended with gains in the overnight trade on Tuesday.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 1,421.48 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data.

The net direct tax collection grew 19.88 percent to over Rs 18.90 lakh crore till March 17 on higher advance tax mop-up.

The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) said net direct tax collection of Rs 18,90,259 crore (as of March 17) includes Corporation Tax (CIT) at Rs 9,14,469 crore (net of refund) and Personal Income Tax (PIT), including Securities Transaction Tax (STT) at Rs 9,72,224 crore (net of refund).

Global oil benchmark Brent crude declined 0.80 percent to USD 86.68 a barrel.

Falling for the eighth straight session, the rupee declined 14 paise to 83.17 against the US dollar on Wednesday. The 30-share BSE benchmark tanked 736.37 points or 1.01 per cent to settle at 72,012.05 on Tuesday. The NSE Nifty slumped 238.25 points or 1.08 percent to finish at 21,817.45.

"Markets displayed range-bound trend and ended marginally higher as caution prevailed ahead of the US Fed meeting the outcome on interest rate. While there will be little chance of rate tinkering, the Fed's commentary on inflation and its take on interest rate will be keenly watched," said Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities Ltd.