Sensex and Nifty rebound after three-day decline; Bank stocks lead gains

Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty made a strong recovery on Friday after three consecutive days of losses, driven by heavy buying in bank stocks and positive global market cues. The BSE Sensex, which had dipped earlier in the day, rebounded to climb 218.14 points (0.27%) and closed at 81,224.75. During intraday trading, it surged by 384.54 points (0.47%) to reach a high of 81,391.15. Similarly, the NSE Nifty rose by 104.20 points (0.42%), ending the day at 24,854.05.

The rally was supported by domestic institutional investors (DIIs) who purchased equities worth Rs 4,979.83 crore, offsetting the selling pressure from Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs), who offloaded Rs 7,421.40 crore on Thursday. Among the major gainers, Axis Bank jumped nearly 6% following a strong September quarter performance, where its consolidated net profit rose by 19.29% to Rs 7,401.26 crore. ICICI Bank, Tata Motors, Tata Steel, NTPC, JSW Steel, State Bank of India, and Adani Ports also contributed to the upward momentum.

However, Infosys tumbled over 4% as its second-quarter earnings, despite showing a 5% profit increase and raising its revenue guidance, failed to meet investor expectations. Other laggards in the blue-chip segment included Asian Paints, Nestle, Tech Mahindra, HCL Technologies, Hindustan Unilever, and ITC.

Global markets provided additional support, with Tokyo, Shanghai, and Hong Kong closing sharply higher, while European markets traded positively. In the US, markets ended mostly higher on Thursday. Brent crude oil also saw a slight dip, trading at USD 74.40 per barrel. On Thursday, the Sensex had dropped 494.75 points (0.61%) to settle at 81,006.61, while the NSE Nifty fell 221.45 points (0.89%) to close at 24,749.85.