Stock markets stage spirited recovery on value buying in banking, metal shares; Sensex up 694 pts

Mumbai: Benchmark Sensex recovered its early losses to close higher by 694 points on Tuesday on late buying in banking, steel and oil & gas shares amid firm trends in global equities ahead of the US presidential elections.

Bouncing back from Monday's sharp fall, the BSE Sensex jumped 694.39 points or 0.88 per cent to settle at 79,476.63. During the day, it soared 740.89 points or 0.94 per cent to 79,523.13.

The NSE Nifty climbed 217.95 points or 0.91 per cent to settle at 24,213.30 as 39 of its constituents advanced and 11 declined.

Stock markets opened on a weak note and traded in a range with a negative bias in the first half as investors turned cautious ahead of the US presidential elections. Sensex hit a low of 78,296.70 while Nifty touched 23,842.75. Value buying in the afternoon session helped indices recover losses and closed in the green.

"Markets witnessed a remarkable turnaround towards the closing hours as value buying in banking stocks along with gains in metals and oil & gas stocks aided broad market recovery.

"Optimism across Asian and European indices ahead of the US election outcome boosted local traders' confidence, although medium-term outlook still looks hazy due to scepticism over further rate cut by the Fed and subdued corporate earnings," Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities Ltd, said.

From the 30-share Sensex pack, JSW Steel surged nearly 5 per cent while Tata Steel jumped nearly 4 per cent. Axis Bank, IndusInd Bank, HDFC Bank, State Bank of India, Kotak Mahindra Bank and UltraTech Cement were also among the big gainers.

Adani Ports, ITC, Bharti Airtel and Asian Paints were among the laggards.

"The domestic market experienced a sharp recovery, reclaiming most of the previous day’s losses amid uncertainty surrounding the likely downgrade in Q2 GDP forecast and closely contested U.S. presidential election," Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services said.

However, the recent rebound in domestic manufacturing activity data, along with the expected revival of consumption in the second half of FY25, are likely to support market sentiment, Nair added.

The BSE midcap gauge climbed 0.48 per cent and smallcap index went up by 0.41 per cent.

Among sectoral indices, metal jumped 2.38 per cent driven by the anticipation of significant stimulus from China later this week. Bankex (2.09 per cent), commodities (1.84 per cent), financial services (1.58 per cent), telecommunication (0.83 per cent), auto (0.81 per cent), realty (0.68 per cent) and utilities (0.67 per cent) also advanced.

IT, Teck and services were the laggards.

A total of 2,468 stocks advanced while 1,478 declined and 112 remained unchanged.

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

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

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 4,329.79 crore on Monday, according to exchange data.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.60 per cent to USD 75.53 a barrel.

The BSE benchmark tumbled 941.88 points or 1.18 per cent to settle at 78,782.24 on Monday, the lowest closing level since August 6. The Nifty tanked 309 points or 1.27 per cent to 23,995.35.