SENSEX, NIFTY50 recover from lower levels led by buying in Reliance Industries, Coal India

The Indian equity benchmarks staged a recovery from lower levels in late morning deals but continue to trade in the negative zone. The SENSEX recovered as much as 705 points from the day's lowest level and NIFTY50 index moved above 23,700 after hitting a low of 23,556 in opening trade.

The recovery in the markets was led by buying interest in heavyweights like Reliance Industries, NTPC, Power Grid, HCL Technologies, Coal India, Asian Paints and Adani Ports, data from exchanges showed.

As of 11:08 am, the SENSEX was down 0.5% or 408 points at 76,456 and NIFTY50 index declined 125 points to 23,740.

Earlier in the session, equity benchmarks nosedived for a second straight session mirroring losses in other Asian markets after crude oil price in the international markets moved above $100 a barrel sending fears of inflationary pressure among the market participants. The SENSEX fell as much as 993 points and NIFTY50 index dropped below its important psychological level of 23,600 to hit an intraday low of 23,556.

Meanwhile, a recovery in banking stocks from lower levels also helped SENSEX and NIFTY50 to recoup some lost ground. The measure of banking stocks on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) - NIFTY Bank index - touched an intraday high of 55,372.65 after hitting a low of 54,760.55.

All the major sector gauges compiled by the NSE, barring the measure or Oil & Gas shares, were trading lower led by the NIFTY Auto index's 2.3% fall. NIFTY FMCG, Bank, Financial Services, Metal, Private Bank, Consumer Durables and Realty indices also fell between 0.55% and 1.3%.

Broader markets were also facing selling pressure as NIFTY Midcap 100 and NIFTY Smallcap 100 indices also fell between 0.5% each.

Eicher Motors was top loser in the NIFTY50 index, the stock fell 3.23% to ₹7,019. Mahindra & Mahindra, Trent, Maruti Suzuki, InterGlobe Aviation, Ultratech Cement, Tata Motors PV and Bajaj Finance also fell between 2% and 3%.

On the flipside, Coal India, Adani Enterprises, NTPC, Power Grid, Reliance Industries, Tech Mahindra, HCL Technologies and Asian Paints were among the top gainers in the NIFTY50 index.

The overall market breadth remained negative as 1,942 shares were declining while 1,048 shares were advancing on the NSE.