Sensex, Nifty end higher after five sessions; auto, IT shares top gainers

Benchmark indices rebounded today after falling for five straight sessions, led by buying in Reliance Industries and recovery in Infosys, TCS and HDFC twins.

A positive trend in global markets also aided the market recovery. Sensex jumped 574.35 points to end at 57,037.50. During the day, the index rallied 753.36 points or 1.33 per cent to 57,216. Nifty ended 177.90 points or 1.05 per cent to 17,136.

"With support from recovery in beaten-down HDFC stocks and the IT sector, the market countered yesterday's selloff. Foreign investors are pumping out funds in large quantities while support from DIIs is helping the market to partially balance the pressure," according to Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

UltraTech Cement, Maruti, Reliance Industries, Asian Paints, TCS, Hindustan Unilever Limited, Bharti Airtel, HDFC and Dr Reddy's were the top Sensex gainers, rising up to 3.52 per cent. Bajaj Finance, ICICI Bank, Bajaj Finserv, Tata Steel and ITC were the top Sensex losers, falling up to 3.35 per cent.

Sensex had tumbled 2,984.03 points in five sessions prior to today, while the Nifty shed 825.70 points.

Share Market Update: Sensex rises 574 points, Nifty ends above 17,100; Ultratech Cement, Maruti, RIL top gainers

Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Equity Research (Retail), Kotak Securities Ltd said, "A Pull-back rally in the global markets lifted sentiments as benchmark indices traded higher. Nifty reclaimed its 17000 level. Among sectors, the Nifty Auto index rallied by over two per cent. Whereas technical sell-off was seen in Metal and Media stocks.

Technically, after today's bounce back, the Nifty is still trading below its 200-day SMA which is broadly negative. On daily charts, Nifty has formed a small inside body bullish candle and on intraday charts. Nifty is consistently taking support near 17050. Directionwise, the medium-term trend is still on the downside. But the continuation of the pullback rally is not ruled out if the Nifty succeeds to trade above 17050. For traders, 17050 would act as a trend decider level, above which Nifty could rally up to 17250-17350. However, below 17050 uptrend would be vulnerable. Below the same,  chances of hitting the level of 16950-16900 would turn bright."

BSE mid cap and small cap indices rose 108 points and 103 points, respectively. Among BSE sectoral indices, auto, IT, consumer durables and oil and gas closed in the green. The market breadth was positive with 1,738 shares ending higher against 1,662 stocks falling into the red. 110 shares were unchanged.

Market cap of BSE-listed firms rose to Rs 268.24 lakh crore.

Elsewhere in Asia, markets in Hong Kong, Seoul and Shanghai settled lower, while Tokyo ended with gains. Markets in Europe were trading higher in the afternoon session. Stocks in the US had ended significantly higher on Tuesday.

International oil benchmark Brent crude gained 0.89 per cent to $108.2 per barrel.