Stock markets bounce back after falling in early trade

Benchmark indices BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty rebounded from early losses to trade higher, driven by banking and capital goods stocks. Investors weighed Middle East tensions, FII selling, and global cues, while Brent crude edged up and Asian markets showed mixed trends

Mumbai: Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty recovered their early losses and were trading higher on Friday, lifted by buying in banking and capital goods shares.

The 30-share BSE Sensex declined 291.93 points, or 0.35 per cent, to 82,206.21 in early trade. The 50-share NSE Nifty dropped 74.6 points, or 0.29 per cent, to 25,379.75.

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However, both benchmark indices soon rebounded from their early losses and were trading in positive territory. The BSE benchmark quoted 161.43 points higher at 82,659.57, and the Nifty traded 65.55 points up at 25,519.90.

Among the Sensex constituents, Bharat Electronics Ltd, NTPC, Larsen & Toubro, Hindustan Unilever, Titan, Axis Bank, Tata Steel, PowerGrid, Sun Pharmaceuticals, UltraTech Cement, ICICI Bank, and Kotak Mahindra Bank were the gainers.

Tech Mahindra, Infosys, Eternal, Bharti Airtel, HCL Technologies, Mahindra & Mahindra, HDFC Bank, Asian Paints, and Trent were the laggards.

“Amidst the many crises, the strength of the Indian economy and the recovery in corporate earnings as reflected in Q3 numbers, are positives for the market,” said V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments Limited.

He further said that investors may wait and watch the unfolding developments in the Middle East and those who are optimistic about a possible deal can “use the current weakness in the market to buy fairly valued high quality stocks in banking and financials, autos, pharmaceuticals, hotels, leading capital goods and telecom”.

The broader Asian markets were trading lower, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 benchmark declining 1.25 per cent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng falling 0.67 per cent. However, South Korea’s Kospi rose nearly 2 per cent.

Stock markets in mainland China remained closed for the Lunar New Year holidays.

The US equities markets settled lower in overnight deals on Thursday.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 880.49 crore on Thursday, while domestic institutional investors were also the net sellers of stocks worth Rs 596.28 crore, according to the exchange data.

Brent Crude, the global oil benchmark, rose 0.33 per cent to USD 71.90 per barrel.

On Thursday, the 30-share BSE Sensex tumbled 1,236.11 points to settle at 82,498.14, while the NSE Nifty slumped 365 points to close at 25,454.35.