Sensex Gains 198 Points, Nifty Ends Above 17,500, Led By Metal, PSU Bank And Power Stocks

PowerGrid Corporation and NTPC were the major gainers among the Sensex 30 stocks, up 3.9 per cent and 2.7 per cent, respectively, whereas Airtel and Tata Steel jumped 2 per cent each

New Delhi: Indian equity benchmark Sensex, which crashed over 700 points in early trade on Tuesday, finally reversed the four-day losing streak. The Sensex on Tuesday closed trading with a gain of 198 points at 58,664.33. 

The NSE Nifty after surging more than 300 points in intra-day finally settled at 17,503, 86 points higher.

After initial hiccups in the day’s trade, the key benchmark indices gained on the back of pull back in select heavyweight stocks after the sell-off.

Power distributors PowerGrid Corporation and NTPC were the major gainers among the Sensex 30 stocks, up 3.9 per cent and 2.7 per cent, respectively, whereas Bharti Airtel and Tata Steel jumped around 2 per cent each. Sun Pharma, Bajaj Finserv, Larsen & Tourbo and SBI were the other major gainers.

On the flip side, IndusInd Bank and Asian Paints dropped around 2.5 per cent each. Infosys was the other prominent loser.

Among sectors, the BSE Metal and Power indices soared over 3 per cent each. The Realty, telecom and capital goods indices were up around 2 per cent each.

During the initial trade, the Sensex hit a low at 57,718. The 30-share index was at 58,370, down just 95 points on the BSE.

According to PTI report, after touching a low of 57,718.34 in the opening session, the 30-share index pared some losses to trade 264.20 points or 0.45 per cent lower at 58,201.69.

Infosys, the top loser in the Sensex pack, shed around 2 per cent.

In the previous session, Sensex ended 1,170.12 points or 1.96 per cent lower at 58,465.89, and Nifty fell 348.25 points or 1.96 per cent to 17,416.55.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital market, as they offloaded shares worth Rs 3,438.76 crore on Monday, as per exchange data.

“The market heavyweight RIL re-evaluating the Aramco deal, Paytm's disastrous listing, resurgence of COVID in parts of Europe, RBI's warning of stretched valuations, foreign brokerages downgrading India and the roll back of farm laws created the perfect storm that spooked the market,” V K Vijayakumar, chief investment strategist at Geojit Financial Services, told PTI.

This is a much needed correction which will make the market healthy, he said, adding that Paytm’s fiasco is a reality check on the froth in the primary market and will restrain the irrationally exuberant newbie investors.

“While Nifty has corrected 6.4 per cent from the peak, Nifty Bank has corrected 12.4 per cent from the peak indicating weakness in the banking sector even though valuations are not stretched in banking. Sustained selling by FIIs will continue to be a negative sentiment in the market. The retail investor response to the correction should be watched,” he said.

Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Hong Kong and Seoul were trading with losses in mid-session deals, while Shanghai and Tokyo were positive. Stock exchanges in the US largely ended in the red in the overnight session.