Indian stock markets recover after losses of two sessions
Mumbai, Sept 16: Indian benchmark indices recovered today after two consecutive sessions of losses, with the Nifty reclaiming the 23,200 mark as buying returned across financials, FMCG and realty stocks.
Easing crude oil prices also offered some relief, although investors remained cautious ahead of the US Federal Reserve’s policy decision.
The Sensex ended 332.63 points, or 0.45 per cent, higher at 74,336.45, while the Nifty gained 99 points, or 0.43 per cent, to settle at 23,217.60. The recovery followed a sharp sell-off in the previous session, when both indices fell more than 1 per cent.
The rebound was broad-based, although IT stocks remained under pressure. The Nifty Midcap 100 ended largely unchanged, while the Nifty Smallcap 100 closed marginally lower, indicating that buying was concentrated in select large-cap segments.
SBI Life Insurance, HDFC Life, ITC, Axis Bank and SBI were among the biggest Nifty gainers. On the other hand, TCS, Wipro, Infosys, Tech Mahindra and Bajaj Finserv were among the major laggards.
Sectorally, IT was the biggest drag, falling 1.5 per cent. Most other sectoral indices ended higher, with FMCG and PSU banks gaining more than 1 per cent each.
The recovery came despite cautious global cues and elevated oil prices. Brent crude remained around USD 108 a barrel, although prices eased from the previous session’s levels, offering some relief to oil-importing economies such as India.
Investors also remained focused on the US Federal Reserve’s policy decision, with markets expecting the central bank to raise rates for the first time since 2023. The outcome and guidance on the future path of rates are expected to influence global bond yields, the dollar and emerging-market flows.
Among individual stocks, Exide Industries gained 1.4 per cent after entering into an agreement with Germany-based ExCom Energy Solutions.
Saatvik Green Energy rose 5 per cent after receiving an order worth Rs 1,041.63 crore from the Solar Energy Corporation of India for the supply of solar photovoltaic modules.
Sonata Software, however, fell 1.2 per cent despite its subsidiary Sonata Information Technology signing a five-year Strategic Collaboration Agreement with Amazon Web Services.
India Pesticides gained 4 per cent after receiving Technical Equivalence approval in the UK and registration for one of its herbicide products in Argentina.
The market’s rebound nevertheless remained measured, with investors awaiting the Fed’s policy decision and monitoring crude prices and global bond yields for cues on the next direction of domestic equities. (BVI)
