Market benchmarks rebound after two-day decline as Reliance, ICICI Bank rally

Benchmark equity indices SENSEX and NIFTY rebounded on Tuesday after a sharp decline in the previous two sessions, driven by intense buying in blue-chip stocks like Reliance Industries, ICICI Bank and L&T amid a firm trend in global markets.

However, a decline in IT stocks ahead of the earnings season and a weak rupee against the greenback restricted the market rally, traders said.

The 30-share BSE benchmark SENSEX climbed 234.12 points or 0.30% to settle at 78,199.11. During the day, it jumped 487.75 points or 0.62% to 78,452.74.

The NIFTY50 gained 91.85 points or 0.39% to 23,707.90.

From the 30-share blue-chip pack, Tata Motors, Reliance Industries, ICICI Bank, Asian Paints, Nestle India, UltraTech Cement, Larsen & Toubro and Adani Ports were among the biggest gainers.

In contrast, Zomato, HCL Tech, Tata Consultancy Services, Tech Mahindra, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Infosys were among the losers.

The BSE smallcap gauge jumped 1.74%, and the midcap index climbed 0.77%.

Among BSE sectoral indices, energy jumped 1.55%, oil & gas surged 1.47%, industrials (1.43%), commodities (1.34%), and services (1.19%).

On the other hand, IT and tech were the laggards.

In Asian markets, Seoul, Tokyo, and Shanghai settled in positive territory while Hong Kong ended lower.

European markets were trading with gains in mid-session deals. US markets ended mostly higher on Monday.

The rupee fell 5 paise to settle at 85.73 (provisional) against the US dollar on Tuesday.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth ₹2,575.06 crore on Monday, according to exchange data.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude dipped 0.12% to $76.21 a barrel.

In the previous session, the BSE benchmark tanked 1,258.12 points or 1.59% to close below the 78,000 level at 77,964.99. The NIFTY slumped 388.70 points or 1.62% to 23,616.05.