SENSEX recovers 400 points from day's low, NIFTY50 above 25,450; TCS, Wipro, HCL Tech gains on value buying

The Indian equity benchmarks showed a strong recovery after staging a gap down opening on Monday, February 16.

The SENSEX recovered as much as 405 points from the day's lowest level and NIFTY50 index touched an intraday high of 25,493 after hitting a low of 25,372.

Information technology heavyweights like Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), HCL Technologies and Wipro came under buying interest on account of value buying after witnessing a sharp selloff last week.

As of 9:29 am, the SENSEX was down 9 points at 82,618 and NIFTY50 index advanced 6 points to 25,477.

Asian markets were trading on a subdued note after data from Japan showed that its economy grew 0.1% annualised in the December quarter, far below the 1.6% gain that was expected as the government spending dragged on activity.

The disappointing figures underline the tough task ahead for Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and should support her push for more aggressive fiscal stimulus, news agency Reuters reported.

Japan's Nikkei declined 0.11% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng advanced 0.01%.

Markets in China are closed for a week on account of Chinese New Year.

Selloff in US stocks paused on Friday as a key measure of inflation fell to nearly a five-year low igniting hopes of a rate cut after in a week that was marred by worries about how artificial-intelligence will shape the future of businesses.

Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.1%, S&P 500 advanced 0.05% and tech heavy Nasdaq declined 0.22%.

Back home, upside was capped owing to selling pressure in Infosys, Reliance Industries, ICICI Bank and State Bank of India.

Eight of 15 sector gauges compiled by the National Stock Exchange were trading high led by the NIFTY Pharma index's 1% gain. NIFTY Healthcare, Consumer Durables, Realty and Private Bank indices also rose between 0.35%-0.9%.

On the flipside, NIFTY IT, Media, Financial Services, Metal and PSU Bank indices were trading with a negative bias.

Broader markets were trading with a negative bias as NIFTY Midcap 100 index slipped 0.13% and NIFTY Smallcap 100 index fell 0.32%.

Among the individual shares, Natco Pharma rose 10% to hit an intraday high of ₹905 after the company informed exchanges that it received approval from Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) for Semaglutide in India.

Power Grid was top gainer in the NIFTY50 index, the stock rose 2.14% to ₹293. Coal India, HDFC Bank, NTPC, Shriram Finance, ONGC, Bajaj Finserv and Cipla also rose between 0.55%-1.9%.

On the flipside, Infosys, Jio Financial Services, Adani Ports, Hindalco, Adani Enterprises, Tata Motors PV, Tech Mahindra and Reliance Industries were top losers in the NIFTY50 index.

The overall market breadth was negative as 1,781 shares were declining while 932 were advancing on the NSE.