MUMBAI: Stock markets rebounded on Thursday with the benchmark Sensex climbing 398 points, led by gains in IT majors and blue-chip Reliance Industries, supported by foreign fund inflows.
The 30-share BSE Sensex rose 398.44 points or 0.49 per cent to close at 82,172.10. During the session, it surged 474.07 points or 0.57 per cent to hit a high of 82,247.73.
The 50-share NSE Nifty jumped 135.65 points or 0.54 per cent to end at 25,181.80.
IT stocks including HCL Tech, TCS, Infosys and Tech Mahindra gained ahead of quarterly earnings. IT bellwether TCS, which announced results after market hours, posted a 1.39 per cent increase in consolidated net profit at Rs12,075 crore and a 2.39 per cent rise in revenue to Rs65,799 crore for Q2 of FY25.
Among Sensex constituents, Tata Steel led the gains, rising 2.65 per cent after reporting a 7 per cent rise in domestic crude steel production. Other top gainers included HCL Tech, UltraTech Cement, Bharat Electronics, Sun Pharma and TCS.
Infosys climbed nearly 1 per cent, while Reliance Industries added 0.78 per cent, aiding the recovery in key indices of the stock markets after Wednesday’s pullback.
On the downside, Axis Bank, Titan, Maruti Suzuki and Tata Motors were among the laggards.
“Domestic benchmark indices staged a smart recovery on Thursday, reversing the previous session’s losses, as risk appetite returned across the board. The Nifty-50 concluded on a strong note, settling just shy of the 25,200 milestone, underpinned by sustained buying across key sectors,” Bajaj Broking Research said in a note.
Positive global cues and institutional buying further supported the market.
“The domestic market showed gains amid Q2 results, while metals outperformed led by an uptick in base metal prices,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services.
He added that despite muted earnings expectations, the IT index gained as investors found comfort in attractive valuations, which remain below long-term averages.
The BSE midcap index rose 0.75 per cent while the smallcap index added 0.18 per cent.
All sectors up
All sectoral indices closed higher. The metal index surged 2.16 per cent, followed by commodities (1.34 per cent), BSE Focused IT (1.13 per cent), IT (1.02 per cent), services (0.87 per cent), healthcare (0.84 per cent), and capital goods (0.78 per cent).
On the BSE, 2,099 stocks advanced, 2,080 declined, and 171 remained unchanged.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net buyers, purchasing equities worth Rs81.28 crore on Wednesday, as per exchange data.
In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 and Shanghai’s SSE Composite ended sharply higher, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng closed in the red. European markets were trading mixed, and US markets closed mostly higher overnight.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude slipped 0.23 per cent to $66.08 a barrel.
On Wednesday, the Sensex had declined 153.09 points or 0.19 per cent to 81,773.66, ending its four-day winning streak. The Nifty had fallen 62.15 points or 0.25 per cent to 25,046.15.
