Stock market live: SENSEX turns positive after falling over 700 points intraday; NIFTY50 tops 25,700; what is behind the sharp rebound?

The equity benchmark indices, after crashing nearly 1% in the first half of the session, made a terrific comeback in the afternoon trade after news reports said that the trade deal between the US and India will be discussed on Tuesday, January 13.

The S&P BSE SENSEX swung 850.86 points till the afternoon deals, reflecting the heightened volatility in the trade.

This means that the benchmark index traded in a wide range, from hitting a low of 82,861.07 to the day's high of 83,711.93 levels.

From the previous close, the index slipped as much as 715.17 points before seeing a sharp recovery.

The 30-share index of the BSE, last seen, was trading at 83,654.13, up 77.89 points, or 0.09%.

The NSE's NIFTY50 index was trading at 25,701.45 levels, up 18.15 points, or 0.07%.

US-India trade deal: Breakthrough, finally?

According to news reports, after assuming charge as the US Ambassador to India, Sergio Gor says, "Many of you have asked me for an update on the ongoing trade deal negotiations. Both sides continue to actively engage. In fact, the next call on trade will occur tomorrow. India is the world's largest nation."

Gor added, "So it's not an easy task to get this across the finish line, but we are determined to get there, and while trade is very important for our relationship, we will continue to work closely together on other very important areas such as security, counter-terrorism, energy, technology, education, and health..."

Markets recover but upside capped

The stocks did see a remarkable recovery from the day's low following the positive statement by the US Ambassador to India, Sergio Gore; however, the benchmark indices did not witness a big rally.

This is because the market participants were in sideways ahead of the earnings announcement by IT majors TCS and HCLTech, due later in the day.

Besides, global developments, too, were on investors' minds.

The Indian government said last week that they were closely monitoring the situation in Iran.

US President Donald Trump, as reported by the BBC, said that the US military was considering "very strong options" in Iran, as anti-government protests which have reportedly killed hundreds enter a third week.

The US-based Human Rights Activist News Agency (HRANA) says it has verified the deaths of nearly 500 protesters and 48 security personnel in Iran, while sources tell the BBC the death toll could be much higher.

Trump has threatened to intervene and said on Sunday that Iranian officials had called him "to negotiate" but added, "We may have to act before a meeting."