Late rally lifts Sensex by 190 points, Nifty recaptures 7,100-mark

Mumbai: Market benchmark Sensex rebounded by 190 points to finish at 23,381.87 Wednesday on fag-end buying from investors at lower levels coupled with higher European cues following recovery in crude oil prices.

The broader NSE Nifty too regained the key 7,100-mark.

Late recovery in beaten-down state-run lender stocks on value-buying, particularly, State Bank of India, influenced sentiment. However, concerns prevailed as the rupee depreciated to to a 30-month low of 68.67 against dollar during the day.

"indexes opened on a negative note followed mixed global cues but gained momentum post the opening of European indexes in green," said Gaurav Jain Director of Hem Securities.

The BSE benchmark Sensex opened higher at 23,237.23 and hovered in a range of 23,434.91 to 22,920.84 before finishing at 23,381.87, showing a gain of 190 points or 0.82 percent.

The index dropped by 362 points yesterday as participants locked in gains in blue-chips amid contraction in exports. The NSE 50-share also recovered by 60.20 points or 0.85 percent to close at 7,108.45 after moving in a range of 7,123.70 to 6,960.65.

Shares of Jindal Steel & Power continued to face selling pressure for a second day, plunging 3.47 percent amid concerns over the company's debt situation.

United Breweries Holdings also fell for a second session, falling by nearly 5 percent, after state-run Punjab National Bank declared Vijay Mallya as well as his group firms UBHL and long-grounded Kingfisher Airlines as 'wilful defaulter'.

However, Dr Reddy's rose by nearly 4 percent as the company will buyback around 44.85 lakh shares, accounting for about 2.6 per cent of the existing paid up capital, for up to Rs 1,569 crore.

Overseas, European stocks were trading higher tracking an overnight Wall Street rally. Key indexes like France, Germany and the UK rose by 1.12 percent to 1.41 percent.

Asian stocks ended mixed, with investors cautious about an agreement among some major oil-producers to steady output. Key indexes in Asia, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore and South Korea fell by 0.23 percent to 1.36 percent while China and Taiwan rose between 0.03 percent and 1.08 percent. 

Back home, out of the 30-share Sensex pack, 21 scrips ended higher.

Major gainers were Adani Ports (5.84 percent), Dr Reddy's (3.52 percent), Sun Pharma (3.29 percent), Tata Motors (3.02 percent), Tata Steel (2.65 percent), RIL (2.45 percent), BHEL (2.42 percent), SBI (1.76 percent), Asian Paints (1.52 percent) and ITC (1.42 percent).

However, ICICI Bank fell by 3.10 percent followed by Coal India (1.71 percent), Lupin (1.40 percent), Cipla (0.83 percent) and Axis Bank (0.49 percent).

Buying by retail investors re-emerged in broader markets helping the mid-cap and small-cap indexes move up by 0.21 percent and 0.47 percent, respectively.

Among BSE sectoral indices, healthcare rose by 1.57 percent, followed by energy 1.41 percent, oil&gas (1.40 percent), industrials (1.28 percent), auto (1.03 percent), capital goods (0.97 percent), IT (0.88 percent) and tech (0.87 percent) while consumer durables fell 2.34 percent, followed by bankex 0.23 percent and finance 0.07 percent.

The market breadth remained negative as 1,439 stocks ended lower, 1,112 closed higher while 145 ruled steady.

The total turnover fell to Rs 2,352.52 crore from Rs 2,604.51 crore yesterday.