MUMBAI, April 28 (PTI): Benchmark stock indices Sensex and Nifty rebounded by over 1 per cent on Thursday, propelled by buying in index majors Reliance Industries, HUL and Infosys along with an overall positive trend in global markets.
The 30-share BSE benchmark jumped 701.67 points or 1.23 per cent to end at 57,521.06. During the day, it zoomed 971.46 points or 1.70 per cent to 57,790.85 amid the expiry of the derivatives contracts.
The NSE Nifty rallied 206.65 points or 1.21 per cent to 17,245.05 as 45 of its stocks ended in green.
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“Markets rebounded sharply and ended the monthly derivatives expiry session with decent gains. In continuation to the prevailing trend, upbeat global cues triggered a firm start which further strengthened with healthy buying in select index majors from FMCG, energy, banking and IT space,” Ajit Mishra, VP – Research, Religare Broking Ltd said.
Among Sensex scrips, Hindustan Unilever spurted the most by 4.55 per cent after the company posted better-than-expected financial results for the fourth quarter of FY22.
HUL posted an 11 per cent growth in domestic business on a flat volume growth due to a high base effect.
Reliance Industries rose by 1.49 per cent after a tripartite partnership of investment venture Bodhi Tree Systems, Viacom18 and Reliance Projects & Property Management Services Ltd was announced on Wednesday.
Reliance also became the first Indian company to cross a market valuation of USD 250 billion.
Bodhi Tree Systems, a venture of James Murdoch’s Lupa Systems and Uday Shankar, ex-chairman of Star and Disney India, will invest Rs 13,500 crore in broadcaster Viacom18 while Reliance arm will put in Rs 1,645 crore.
Among other gainers, Asian Paints jumped 3.18 per cent, PowerGrid by 2.79 per cent, NTPC by 2.67 per cent and L&T by 2.47 per cent.
SBI rose by 2.02 per cent, Infosys by 1.94 per cent, Axis Bank by 1.81 per cent, Sun Pharma by 1.6 per cent, ITC by 1.4 per cent and ICICI Bank by 1.39 per cent.
Kotak Bank, IndusInd Bank, Maruti, Bajaj Finserv, Tata Steel and Dr Reddy’s also advanced.
In contrast, Bharti Airtel, M&M, HCL Technologies and HDFC Bank were the laggards.
“A smart pullback rally on the last day of April F&O expiry series helped the markets rebound amidst wild intra-day gyrations during the week,” said Shrikant Chouhan, head of Equity Research (Retail), Kotak Securities Ltd.
Volatility is beginning to be the new normal for investors as haze over rising inflation, possible interest rate hikes and fluctuating oil prices have kept equity as an asset class in tight leash, Chouhan said.
In the broader market, the BSE midcap gauge jumped 0.83 per cent and smallcap index gained 0.12 per cent.
Among BSE sectoral indices, FMCG emerged as the biggest gainer with 2.08 per cent jump, followed by power (1.88 per cent), utilities (1.76 per cent), bank (1.22 per cent) and energy (1.15 per cent). Telecom was the only laggard with a 0.78 per cent decline.
“Investors preference is shifting to safe-haven assets due to volatile equity markets and global uncertainties indicated by rising US Dollar index. FPIs are in a selling mode while domestic investors are positive and will focus on defensives like consumption and domestic growth sectors like infra & capital goods,” Vinod Nair, head of Research at Geojit Financial Services said.
Volatility is expected to continue in the short-term due to weakening global trade and we suggest investors to have rational expectations focusing on domestic growth sectors like CAPEX, banking and defence, Nair said.
The US dollar soared to a five-year high against a basket of global currencies amid rush to safe-haven assets. The dollar index traded at 10.3.4 while the greenback surged past the 130 level against the Japanese yen as Bank of Japan continued with its accommodative stance.
Analysts said the dollar index at 103 indicates flight to safety and this implies that FPIs will continue to sell in this market. FPIs offloaded shares worth over Rs 4,000 crore on net basis on Wednesday.
The rally in domestic stocks was supported by gains in global markets. Stock markets in Tokyo, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Seoul ended with healthy gains. Stocks in the US had ended mostly higher on Wednesday.
Markets in Europe were trading in the green in the afternoon session.
The Sensex had tumbled 537.22 points or 0.94 per cent to end at 56,819.39 points on Wednesday. The NSE Nifty declined 162.40 points or 0.94 per cent to 17,038.40 points.
Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude slipped 0.07 per cent to USD 105.33 per barrel.
