Market Wrap, March 5: Indices halt losing streak; SENSEX ends above 73K level, NIFTY soars 1%

The equity benchmark indices on Wednesday, March 5, reversed all losses and closed in green, backed by support from the broader market along with the IT, banks and auto sectors.

The market sentiment also remained positive amid reports of easing trade tensions. Investors also gained confidence after service sector activity data showed advances for February.

At close, the S&P BSE SENSEX stood at 73,730.23, jumping 740.30 points, or 1.01%, while the NSE's NIFTY50 index ended at 22,337.30, surging 254.65 points, or 1.15%.

This was the biggest single day gains for the bourses in a month. Market breadth was largely in favour of positives, as 2,461 stocks advanced on the NSE out of 2,967 stocks traded during the session.

Meanwhile, the broader market outperformed the equity indices by soaring over 2.5%.

India's services sector activity picked up momentum in February, as indicated by the purchasing managers index (PMI) data released by the HSBC India Services. Services PMI in February rose to 59 from 56.5 in the previous month.

United States Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick on Tuesday hinted that President Donald Trump could consider some tariff relief for Canada and Mexico.

US President Donald Trump criticised the high tariffs charged by India and other countries, including China, calling it "very unfair" and announcing reciprocal tariffs will kick in from next month.

Among the global markets, Asian shares and US futures were mostly higher on Wednesday following a rocky session on Wall Street after Canada, Mexico and China were hit by steep US tariffs that took effect on Tuesday.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index jumped 2.6% to 23,548.86, while the Shanghai Composite index climbed 0.6% to 3,342.36.

Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index edged 0.2% higher to 37,418.24. In South Korea, the Kospi gained 1.2% to 2,558.13, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 shed 1.2% to 8,141.10.

However, the US market remained under pressure on Tuesday. The S&P 500 erased its post-election gains as indices reacted to tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China. In response, Canada imposed immediate counter-tariffs on US imports, while China announced 15% duties on US farm products, including chicken and pork, set to take effect on March 10.

The S&P 500 fell 1.2% to 5,778.15, with more than 80% of the stocks in the benchmark index closing lower. The Dow slid 1.6% to 42,520.99.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth ₹3,405.82 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude depreciated by 0.34% to $70.80 a barrel.

As many as 2,967 stocks traded on the NSE on Wednesday. Out of this, 2,461 advanced and only 436 stocks declined, while 70 scrips remained unchanged.

A total of 14 stocks hit their 52-week highs, while 124 stocks touched their one-year lows. Besides, 290 stocks hit their upper circuit limits, and 124 touched their lower circuit bands on Wednesday.

India VIX, the volatility gauge, stood at 13.67 levels, falling 1.15%.

The broader market outperformed the main indices on Wednesday as Nifty Midcap 100 rallied 2.42% at 49,168.35 while Nifty Smallcap 100 closed 2.96% higher at 15,199.1 level.

All sectors closed in green with Nifty Midsmall IT & Telecom (4.43%), Nifty Metal (4.04%), Nifty Media (3.14%), Nifty PSU Bank (3%) and Nifty Auto (2.6%) contributing most to Wednesday’s rally.

As many as 46 stocks on the NIFTY50 index traded positive, while the only 4 closed in red. The biggest gainers on the index were Adani Ports, Tata Steel, Adani Enterprises, Power Grid and Mahindra and Mahindra (M&M), climbing as much as 5.15%.

On the flip side, Bajaj Finance, IndusInd Bank, HDFC Bank and Shriram Finance were the top losers, declining as much as 3.37% on the 50-share index.

On a year-to-date basis, APSEZ handled 408.7 million metric tonnes (MMT) of total cargo, jumping 7% YoY. This volume was led by containers (+20% YoY) and liquids and gas (+9% YoY).