Staging a strong comeback after a weak start, domestic equity markets erased steep early losses to finish higher on Thursday. The benchmark BSE Sensex gained 185 points, while the broader NSE Nifty 50 closed above the 22,700 mark, supported by value buying in IT and banking stocks, and a sharp rebound in the rupee.
After plunging sharply in early trade, the 30-share Sensex rebounded over 2,000 points from its intraday low to settle at 73,319.55, up 185.23 points or 0.25 per cent. The index had opened on a weak note and tumbled as much as 1,588 points to hit a low of 71,545.81 during the first half. However, strong buying interest in IT heavyweights like HCL Technologies and Tata Consultancy Services, along with banking majors HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank, helped the index recover, touching an intraday high of 73,568.54 in late trade.
The Nifty followed a similar pattern, ending at 22,713.10, up 33.70 points or 0.15 per cent. The index had dropped 496.85 points, or 2.19 per cent, in early deals before bouncing back to hit a high of 22,782.30.
Investor sentiment improved further as the rupee staged a sharp recovery after intervention by the Reserve Bank of India. The central bank introduced measures to limit banks’ exposure in onshore forward markets, prompting dollar unwinding. The rupee rebounded by 188 paise during the session to briefly touch the 92 level against the US dollar, before settling over 150 paise higher.
Bargain hunting in IT counters supported the recovery, with HCL Technologies and Tech Mahindra rising nearly 3 per cent each. Among the Sensex constituents, major gainers included Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, HDFC Bank, Bajaj Finance, Maruti Suzuki India, Titan Company, Axis Bank, Bharat Electronics Limited, Kotak Mahindra Bank and ITC Limited.
On the downside, laggards included Asian Paints, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, NTPC Limited, Reliance Industries, Power Grid Corporation of India, Mahindra & Mahindra, UltraTech Cement, Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone, Bajaj Finserv, and Tata Steel.
According to Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Investments Ltd, markets initially came under pressure after renewed geopolitical tensions. He noted that comments from Donald Trump about striking Iran ‘extremely hard’ erased optimism from the previous session, triggering widespread selling across Asian markets.
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Nair added that the RBI’s twin regulatory steps—capping banks’ net open rupee positions and restricting non-deliverable forward (NDF) offerings to corporates—though disruptive in the short term, effectively forced dollar unwinding and supported a meaningful recovery in the rupee.
In his first national address since the Iran conflict escalated, Trump said the US would continue military action and ‘finish the job’ soon, noting that core strategic goals were close to being achieved.
Following his remarks, global oil prices surged, with Brent crude climbing more than 7 per cent to USD 108.52 per barrel. In the previous session, the Sensex had surged 1,186.77 points to close at 73,134.32, while the Nifty had rallied 348 points to settle at 22,679.40.
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