Sensex rebounds 239 pts, Nifty ends 7-day decline on bottom fishing by investors

Mumbai, Nov 19 (PTI) Benchmark Sensex rebounded 239 points while Nifty ended its seven-day losing streak on Tuesday following value-buying in banking, IT and auto shares amid mixed global trends.

Snapping its four days of decline, the 30-share Sensex climbed 239.37 points or 0.31 per cent to settle at 77,578.38. The index opened with gains and spurted further 1,112.64 points or 1.43 per cent to hit the day’s high of 78,451.65. However, fag-end decline in Reliance Industries restricted the market rally.

The NSE Nifty also bounced back after seven straight sessions of losses. The broader 50-issue barometer gained 64.70 points or 0.28 per cent to settle at 23,518.50. The index jumped over 300 points to hit 23,780 level in the day.

Stock markets were on a decline in the past seven sessions with Nifty tanking 1,030 points or over 4.3 per cent due to FII selling, weaker-than-expected quarterly results and strengthening US bond yields. Sensex plunged more than 3,000 points to 77,300 levels during the period.

“A strong bounce back due to bottom fishing was short-lived as caution prevails in the market. Investors tend to use every opportunity to book profit amidst consistent FII selling and weak Q2 earnings. Profit-booking was also seen ahead of the upcoming Maharashtra state election,” Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services, said.

The recent correction in valuation suggests a potential pause in further price erosion. However, the recovery will depend on an uptick in earnings which is likely to rebound due to the likely spurt in central and state expenditure in H2, Nair added

From the 30-share Sensex pack, Mahindra & Mahindra, Tech Mahindra, HDFC Bank, Titan, Tata Motors, UltraTech Cement, Power Grid and Infosys were the biggest gainers.

In contrast, Reliance Industries, State Bank of India, Bajaj Finserv, Maruti, Tata Steel and Bharti Airtel were among the laggards.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 1,403.40 crore on Monday, while Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) bought shares worth Rs 2,330.56 crore, according to exchange data.

The BSE midcap gauge jumped 0.94 per cent and smallcap index climbed 0.90 per cent.

Among sectoral indices, realty surged 1.45 per cent, auto (1.41 per cent), services (1.24 per cent), consumer discretionary (1.21 per cent), consumer durables (1.01 per cent) and healthcare (0.67 per cent).

Metal, oil & gas and energy were the laggards.

As many as 2,362 stocks advanced while 1,601 declined and 96 remained unchanged on the BSE.

In Asian markets, Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong settled higher.

European markets were trading lower. The US markets ended mostly higher on Monday.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude dipped 0.25 per cent to USD 73.12 a barrel.

The 30-share BSE benchmark dropped 241.30 points or 0.31 per cent to settle at 77,339.01, registering its fourth day of decline on Monday. Falling for the seventh day in a row, the Nifty dipped 78.90 points or 0.34 per cent to 23,453.80.

Leading stock exchanges BSE and NSE have declared a trading holiday on November 20 for assembly elections in Maharashtra.