Market snaps 5-day fall, Sensex ends 367 pts higher; Maruti, Axis Bank, SBI, Airtel lead gain

The Indian benchmark indices staged a smart recovery in late hour trade to close higher on Tuesday as investors stepped in to buy beaten-up stocks. The domestic bourses opened lower today, mirroring weakness in global peers, as investors weighed escalating geopolitical tensions and the Federal Reserve’s campaign against inflation.

Snapping five sessions losing streak, the BSE Sensex ended 367 points, or 0.64%, higher at 57,858, while the NSE Nifty 50 climbed 129 points, or 0.75%, to settle at 17,278. Earlier today, the Sensex opened 300 points lower and declined as much as 1,082 points in early deals to hit an intraday low of 56,410, while Nifty dropped 312 points to hit a low of 16,837 during the session.

The BSE Sensex had nosedived 3,816 points over the last five sessions, while the Nifty 50 declined 1,193 points during this period.

In line with the benchmark indices, the broader markets also ended higher. The S&P BSE Midcap index jumped 1.03%, while the S&P BSE Smallcap index rose 0.81%.

The overall market breadth on the BSE was positive, with 2,122 shares advancing out of total 3,735 traded stocks. Out of the total shares, 1,477 shares declined and 136 were unchanged.

PSU, power index lead rally

On the sectoral front, PSU and power indices were among top gainers, while IT and consumer durables emerged as worst performers.

The BSE PSU index emerged as the biggest gainer by rising 2.53%, led by Bank of Baroda, Canara Bank, National Aluminium Company, Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd., and MMTC.

The PSU sector was followed by the power index, which closed 2.4% higher. The top performers in power sectors were Adani Green Energy, Adani Power, Tata Power Company, Power Grid Corporation of India, and Siemens, which climbed up to 5%.

Maruti Suzuki India, the country’s largest carmaker, emerged as the biggest gainer on the BSE Sensex pack by closing 6.9% higher. The other notable gainers include Axis Bank, State Bank of India, IndusInd Bank, and Bharti Airtel, which rose in the range of 3.2% to 6.7%.

On the losing side, IT major Wipro topped the losers’ chart by falling 1.75%. Some of the other top laggards include Bajaj Finserv, Titan Company, Infosys, and Tech Mahindra, which fell up to 1.16% on the BSE.

Shares in news

Maruti Suzuki India: Shares of the country’s largest car maker closed 7.4% higher despite reporting higher-than-expected 48% fall in third-quarter net profit, owing to high raw material costs and low production which impacted margins. Profit stood at ₹1,011 crore in Q3 FY22, compared with ₹1,941 crore in the year ago period. Total revenue from operations slipped 1% to ₹23,246 crore.

Reliance Industries: Shares of Mukesh Ambani-led RIL ended 0.4% lower, after falling nearly 3% in intraday trade. The stock price has dropped as much as 5% in two sessions even after the company clarified on loan of ₹750 crore granted to Shapoorji Pallonji Company by its arm Reliance Ventures.

Federal Bank: Shares of private lender surged 4% after its net profit rose 29% year-on-year to ₹521 crore in the third quarter ended December 2021, aided by sharp reduction in provisions and marginal improvement in net interest income.

Axis Bank: Shares of the private lender jumped 6.5% after it reported a three-fold jump in its third-quarter net profit on the back of strong growth in its net interest income and improving asset quality. Net profit of the bank surged 224% year-on-year to ₹3,614 crore in the quarter ended December 2021 compared with ₹1,117 crore in the year-ago period.

Lux industries: Shares of apparel retailer hit 20% lower circuit after capital market regulator SEBI on Monday barred 14 entities for indulging in insider trading and ordered impounding ill-gotten gains of ₹2.94 crore in the matter of the company.

Sterlite Technologies: Shares of tech company jumped 4% after it secured a Rs 170 crore order for building a unified network management system (UNMS) for Power Grid Corporation of India (PGCIL).

Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL): Shares of state-owned oil market company rose 2.4% after it emerged as winner for city gas distribution networks in a round conducted by Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB).

Asian markets slump on worries about Russia-Ukraine tensions, Fed policy

Shares in the Asia-Pacific region fell sharply on Tuesday as concerns over the US Federal Reserve's policy outcome and tensions in Ukraine triggered a sell-off in the market. The wild volatility on Wall Street in overnight trade also injected negativity in the market.

China mainland shares were among the worst performers in the regional market, with the Shenzhen Component and the Shanghai Composite falling 2.8% and 2.6%, respectively.

Australia’s ASX 200 index also ended 2.5% lower after inflation surged more than expected in the last few months of 2021.

South Korea’s KOSPI dropped 2.56%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 index settled 1.66% lower. The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong fell 1.67%, while the Straits Times Index in Singapore slipped 1.08%.

In a similar trend, Indonesia's Jakarta Composite shed 1.3%, while Thailand’s SET Composite ended marginally lower.

European stocks follow Wall Street higher

Meanwhile, European stocks edged higher in opening trade, following a positive finish at Wall Street overnight. Investors awaited the U.S. Federal Reserve’ policy outcome as the central bank will begin its two-day meeting tonight.

Snapping two sessions' losing streak, Germany’s DAX rose 1.2% in early trade, while France’s CAC index jumped 1.4%. In a similar trend, the U.K.’s FTSE 100 index climbed 1.1%, and Spain’s IBEX index rose 1.2% in early deals.

In the overnight trade, all three major U.S. indices closed higher in highly volatile session. Driven by a strong rebound in the late hour of trade, the Dow Jones index closed 0.3% higher, the S&P 500 also added 0.3%, and the NASDAQ Composite settled 0.6% higher.