Sensex bounces back 834 points from day's low as bank stocks help D-St stage smart recovery

NEW DELHI: Dalal Street investors defied the global trend to rescue benchmark indices from the negative territory on Monday. PSU banks were in huge demand followed by other financial stocks that helped both S&P BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty50 stage a smart recovery.

An adverse comment by a Fed Reserve official, who said the US central bank could hike interest rates as early as 2022-end, spooked investors globally. However, the fact that not everyone is on board the idea left enough leeway for stock market bulls.

The 30-share pack Sensex rose 230.01 points or 0.44 per cent to close at 52,574.46. The index climbed 834 points from its day’s low. Its broader peer NSE Nifty gained 63.15 points or 0.40 per cent to 15,746.50.

Market at a glance:

• Bandhan Bank soars 8% as Assam government provides relief on MFI loans
• Reliance Home Finance jumps 5% as Authum emerges highest bidder
• PNB Housing tanks 5% as regulator calls for share allocation delay
• Centrum Capital surges 5%; RBI approves setting up of small finance bank
• Volatility gauge India VIX gains 2% ahead of F&O expiry

"The domestic market opened on a weak note due to the hawkish monetary policy of the US Federal Reserve. But the market clawed back above the day’s low and closed in the green as the market expects a faster economic recovery owing to the PM's announcement on free inoculation for all citizens. PSU Bank was the top sectoral performer on reports of the government finalizing Central Bank of India and Indian Overseas Bank for privatisation," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

Among the blue-chip names, Adani Ports was the top gainer, rising 5.13 per cent. NTPC, Titan, SBI, Bajaj Finserv, IndusInd Bank, Tata Steel, HDFC, HDFC Life Insurance and UltraTech Cement were other gainers.

UPL was the top loser in the Nifty pack, falling 4.38 per cent. Wipro, Tata Motors, Maruti Suzuki, Tech Mahindra, Hindalco, TCS, M&M, L&T and Eicher Motors were other stocks that ended in the red.

Broader market indices ended higher, outperforming their headline peers. Nifty Smallcap advanced 0.65 per cent and Nifty Midcap rose 0.79 per cent. Nifty 500, the broadest index on NSE, ended up 0.52 per cent.

GMM Infra, BHEL, Union Bank of India, TV18 Broadcast, IRB Infra Developers and FDC were top gainers from mid cap and smallcap indices, climbing in the range of 5-9 per cent.

PNB Housing Finance, Quess Corps, Vakrangee, Emami, Balkrishna Industries and Vodafone Idea were major losers from the broader market space, falling in the range of 1-5 per cent.

Barring Nifty Auto and Nifty IT, which slipped 0.41 per cent and 0.28 per cent, respectively, all sectoral indices on NSE closed with gains. Nifty PSU Bank rose the most, ending with a gain of 4.11 per cent. It was followed by Nifty Realty and Nifty Metal, which rose 2.33 per cent and 1.12 per cent, respectively.

Market breadth was in favour of gainers as 2,049 stocks ended in the green while 1,258 counters settled with cuts. As many as 398 securities hit 52-week highs, mostly from the smallcap space. Meanwhile, 37 scrips hit 52-week lows, mostly from the microcap space. About 575 stocks hit upper circuit limits and 261 lower circuit limits.

European markets were trading higher at the last count. London-based FTSE was up 0.16 per cent while Paris and Frankfurt advanced 0.25 per cent and 0.66 per cent, respectively. In Asia, all markets barring China ended with cuts.