The Sensex staged a powerful rebound on Thursday, surging 1,533.72 points, or 2.11 per cent, to close at 74,315.61, while the NSE Nifty 50 gained 374.65 points, or 1.66 per cent, to settle at 22,997.35.
The rally came as hopes grew that foreign investors would rotate toward domestic markets amid a sharp sell-off in global artificial-intelligence-linked stocks, improving India’s relative appeal at a time when Asian markets were under heavy selling pressure over stretched tech valuations and higher US inflation. The Nifty briefly crossed the psychologically important 23,000 mark during the session before ending marginally below it, while the Sensex reclaimed levels above 74,000 in a broad-based recovery that reversed Wednesday’s decline of 251.89 points.
Sensex rally powered by IT and banking stocks
Information technology shares were the most visible source of strength behind the benchmark’s advance. Buying in HCLTech, TCS, Infosys and Tech Mahindra followed encouraging quarterly results and a reassessment of established Indian IT businesses, lifting the Nifty IT index 1.82 per cent to 30,785.45 and making it the day’s top-performing sectoral gauge.
Financial heavyweights reinforced the Sensex rally. ICICI Bank jumped 3.80 per cent to Rs 1,389.40, HDFC Bank advanced 2.27 per cent to Rs 726.85, and Reliance Industries rose 3.44 per cent to Rs 1,215 on buying interest ahead of the Jio Platforms IPO. Together, the three stocks contributed roughly 193 points to the Nifty, accounting for more than half of the index’s total gain — making them the index’s biggest points contributors on the day. The Nifty Private Bank index advanced 1.89 per cent and the Auto index gained 1.67 per cent, rounding out a session dominated by large-cap leadership.
The Indian rupee appreciated 12 paise to close at 95.05 against the US dollar, marking its fifth consecutive session of gains, supported by a broadly weaker greenback, lower oil prices and likely central bank intervention. Brent crude fell more than 2 per cent to about USD 103.55 a barrel, easing concerns over India’s import bill, while gold and silver prices advanced. Analysts said falling bond yields, a stable currency and cheaper crude combined with the global tech rotation to create a supportive backdrop for equities, with the India VIX declining more than 4 per cent toward the 14 mark.
Sensex breadth tells a more cautious story
Beneath the Sensex headline gains, market breadth remained weak. Of the 3,667 stocks traded on the BSE, 1,343 advanced while 2,218 declined and 106 remained unchanged. Mid-cap shares rose just 0.3 per cent and small-caps slipped 0.6 per cent, suggesting investors favoured liquid, established companies over broader risk-taking.
Sectoral laggards included Nifty PSU Bank, down 1.55 per cent, and Media, down 1.47 per cent. IDBI Bank plunged 8 per cent to Rs 83.07 after the Cabinet approved its stake sale to Fairfax, while Yes Bank slumped about 13 per cent after the Supreme Court ruled its AT-1 bond write-off illegal — the two stocks bucking the broader market trend entirely.
Earnings add fuel to the Sensex rebound
Second-quarter results provided additional fuel for the rally. HDFC Asset Management Company posted a standalone net profit of Rs 749.81 crore for the September quarter, up 4 per cent from a year earlier, while South Indian Bank reported a 21 per cent jump in net profit to Rs 426 crore. The results reinforced the leadership of financial stocks in the rally, even as investors awaited numbers from Tech Mahindra and Wipro due later in the day.
The session’s advance followed a choppy sequence: a 1,109-point Sensex surge on Tuesday, a 252-point pullback on Wednesday, and Thursday’s powerful rebound — a pattern that suggests the market is attempting to base out without yet establishing a consistent uptrend. Sixty-nine stocks touched 52-week highs while 83 hit 52-week lows, reflecting the stock-specific cross-currents beneath the index-level strength. The rally also unfolded on the weekly options-expiry session, when position adjustments can amplify short-term swings.
With second-quarter earnings in full flow and foreign investor flows still the decisive variable, analysts said the sustainability of the Sensex rebound will depend on upcoming results from banking heavyweights and confirmation that overseas selling has genuinely turned.