Markets bounce back after 8 days of fall; end nearly 1 pc higher

Mumbai, Mar 1 (PTI) Stock market benchmarks ended nearly 1 per cent higher on Wednesday, halting their eight days of decline, amid gains in Asian and European equity exchanges.

The BSE Sensex advanced 448.96 points or 0.76 per cent to settle at 59,411.08 after a positive beginning. During the day, it jumped 513.33 points or 0.87 per cent to 59,475.45.

The NSE Nifty climbed 146.95 points or 0.85 per cent to end at 17,450.90.

In the past eight days, the BSE benchmark had tumbled 2,357.39 points or 3.84 per cent, and the Nifty declined 731.9 points or 4.22 per cent.

From the Sensex pack, State Bank of India, Axis Bank, IndusInd Bank, Tech Mahindra, HCL Technologies, Tata Consultancy Services, Maruti Suzuki, Tata Steel and Tata Motors were the major gainers.

Power Grid and HDFC Bank were the laggards from the pack.

In Asian markets, Japan, China and Hong Kong ended in the positive territory.

Equity exchanges in Europe were trading in the green. The US markets had ended lower on Tuesday.

“The Indian market was oversold and needed encouraging domestic triggers to show signs of revival. The manufacturing PMI reported was better than predicted at 55.3, even though India’s Q3 FY23 GDP statistics came in slightly below expectations at 4.4 per cent. Solid global markets, bolstered by strong Chinese manufacturing data, also ignited optimism in the domestic market,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

The growth momentum in India’s manufacturing sector was maintained in February, with new orders and output increasing at similar rates to January, according to a monthly survey.

Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) offloaded shares worth Rs 4,559.21 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data.

International oil benchmark Brent crude dipped 0.18 per cent to USD 83.30 per barrel.