Markets stage sharp recovery; Sensex reclaims 79k level, Nifty surges 557 points

Mumbai: Benchmark equity indices rebounded sharply on Friday, with the Sensex climbing 2.54 per cent to reclaim the 79,000 level, driven by across-the-board rally and value buying at lower levels.

Strong buying by domestic institutional investors and a firm trend in the US markets also bolstered market sentiment, traders said.

The BSE benchmark Sensex jumped 1,961.32 points or 2.54 per cent to settle at 79,117.11. During the day, it surged 2,062.4 points or 2.67 per cent to 79,218.19.

A total of 2,446 stocks advanced, while 1,475 declined and 120 remained unchanged on the BSE.

The NSE Nifty soared 557.35 points or 2.39 per cent to 23,907.25.

All the 30 Sensex firms ended in the green.

On the weekly front, the BSE benchmark zoomed 1,536.8 points or 1.98 per cent, and the Nifty climbed 374.55 points or 1.59 per cent.

"The market witnessed a significant broad-based rally, from the oversold territory, predominantly led by large-cap stocks, as their valuations appeared appealing with expectations of improvement in corporate earnings in the second half of the fiscal year.

"Positive momentum was also observed in global markets due to a modest decline in Japan's October inflation and 39 trillion yen stimulus package. Moderation in global and domestic political drama provided a relief to the domestic market," Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services, said.

State Bank of India, Tata Consultancy Services, Titan, ITC, Infosys, Larsen & Toubro, Reliance Industries and Bajaj Finance were the biggest gainers.

Buying emerged at lower levels in blue-chip stocks, causing several index heavy-weights, including Reliance to gain significantly, Siddhartha Khemka, Head - Research, Wealth Management, Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd, said.

Hectic buying in blue chip counters like Reliance Industries, IT and teck shares also fuelled the rally in equities.

The majority of the listed Adani group firms ended higher, bouncing back from the previous day's sharp fall after billionaire industrialist Gautam Adani was charged in the US for alleged bribery and fraud.

Ambuja Cements surged 3.50 per cent, ACC jumped 3.17 per cent, Adani Enterprises climbed 2.16 per cent, Adani Ports (2.05 per cent), Adani Total Gas (1.18 per cent) and NDTV (0.65 per cent) on the BSE.

The BSE midcap gauge jumped 1.26 per cent, and smallcap index climbed 0.90 per cent.

Sectoral indices ended in the green, with Nifty IT surging over 3 per cent, buoyed by robust US labour market data as the Initial jobless claims fell by 6,000, marking a seven-month low, which suggests that the job growth rebounded in November after last month's slowdown, Khemka said.

All sectoral indices ended higher. The BSE Focused IT surged 3.26 per cent, teck (3.18 per cent), IT jumped 3.14 per cent, capital goods (2.36 per cent), energy (2.19 per cent), FMCG (2.18 per cent) and consumer durables (2.17 per cent).

"Markets witnessed a major relief rally on across-the-board buying as benchmark indices surged over 2 per cent ahead of the poll results in two states on Saturday. The exit polls hinting at BJP winning in both states seemed to have boosted investors' sentiment in a big way and shrugged off the Adani controversy.

"Also, many of the stocks are now looking relatively attractive, especially after the relentless selloff over the past few weeks due to dismal Q2 earnings and unabated FII fund outflows, and hence the reversal of trend," Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities Ltd, said.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 5,320.68 crore on Thursday, while Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) bought shares worth Rs 4,200.16 crore, according to exchange data.

"Global equities were mixed on Friday following gains on Wall Street, while geopolitical tensions tempered the atmosphere and lifted oil again," Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research, HDFC Securities, said.

In Asian markets, Seoul and Tokyo settled in the positive territory while Shanghai and Hong Kong ended lower.

European markets were trading lower. The US markets ended higher on Thursday.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.19 per cent to USD 74.37 a barrel.

On Thursday, the BSE benchmark tanked 422.59 points or 0.54 per cent to settle at 77,155.79 points. The Nifty slumped 168.60 points or 0.72 per cent to 23,349.90.

"On Monday, the market will react to the outcome of State assembly elections in Maharashtra and Jharkhand along with other global triggers, including developments in the Russia-Ukraine war...However, in the near term, we expect volatility to continue in the market, driven by triggers including State election outcome, FII activity and global geopolitical concerns," Khemka said.