Indian benchmark indices staged a dramatic recovery on Thursday, with Sensex closing 238.22 points higher at 76,741.82, up 0.31%, and Nifty 50 ending at 23,962.80, gaining 80.75 points or 0.34%. According to latest reports, Sensex had made an intraday high of 77,326.65, up 823 points or 1.08%, while Nifty 50 touched a high of 24,134.70, gaining 252.65 points or 1.06%. The recovery came after both indices had plunged more than 2% in the previous session when crude oil prices climbed to near $79 a barrel. Market breadth remained overwhelmingly positive with 2,825 stocks advancing against 1,424 declining on the BSE, while India VIX dropped 10% to 13.27, indicating significant reduction in trader anxiety. However, late profit booking in the final hours of trade erased much of the early gains, as reported by The Financial Express.
The market recovery was broad-based with Nifty Realty leading gains at 2.3%, followed by Nifty FMCG, Nifty PSU Bank, Nifty Consumer Durables, and Nifty Cement each gaining over 1%. Bharti Airtel emerged as the top Sensex gainer, jumping 3.3% to become the top performer, while Sun Pharma, Eternal, Bajaj Finserv, and IndiGo added more than 2% each. Asian Paints, ICICI Bank and Reliance Industries gained over 1% each, with Airtel, HDFC Bank, and RIL together contributing nearly 300 points to the Sensex's rally. However, IT stocks including Infosys and TCS, along with Bajaj Finance shares, declined 1-2% to lead losses on the benchmark index. The decline in IT stocks came ahead of heavyweight TCS's Q1 earnings, which is expected to weigh on the sector. The broader market outperformed the benchmarks, with BSE MidCap and SmallCap indices advancing 1.35% and 1.77% respectively, as reported by The Financial Express.
Investors recouped more than half of Wednesday's losses as the BSE's total market capitalisation increased by ₹4.71 lakh crore to ₹475.94 lakh crore, according to The Financial Express. On Wednesday, investor wealth had declined by ₹8.97 lakh crore. Siddhartha Khemka, Head of Research, Wealth Management, Motilal Oswal Financial Services, noted that "Indian equities showed resilience today despite global volatility and escalating geopolitical tensions in West Asia". Ankur Punj, MD & Business Head, Equirus Wealth, explained that "markets ended higher after yesterday's slump, although gains were capped by profit-taking in the closing hours". Global recovery in several indices supported local sentiment, but investors turned cautious ahead of TCS's quarterly earnings announcement, as traders closely monitor volatility in global crude oil prices and rupee movement.
Foreign Portfolio Investors sold shares worth ₹532.86 crore, while Domestic Institutional Investors were net buyers to the tune of ₹2,057.79 crore, according to provisional exchange data. VK Vijayakumar, chief investment strategist at Geojit Investments, noted that FIIs have been buyers for the last four trading days, purchasing ₹3,954 crore worth of equities in the cash market. As per Vijayakumar, the trend may continue if crude remains stable, with large caps and financials likely to remain resilient. Brent crude was trading higher by 1% at $78.80 per barrel in futures trade, though September crude is trading at $76, indicating the market doesn't believe the situation will aggravate. Vijayakumar emphasized that the crisis will reemerge only if tensions lead to closure of the Strait of Hormuz and crude spiking above $100.
The technical setup for Nifty 50 has weakened with yesterday's decisive breach of key support levels at 24,200 and 24,000 weakening the short-term trend. Devarsh Vakil from HDFC Securities noted that the next support zone is located in the 23,817-23,645 band, derived from the upward gap formed on 15 June 2026. On the upside, 24,000 has now turned into immediate resistance, with further hurdles near 24,250. Anand James from Geojit Investments expects a recovery swing aiming 24,041-24,229 initially, while inability to sustain above 23,936 could confirm the next leg of downsides aiming 23,641 initially. The current recovery suggests a potential bounce from these oversold levels, though analysts continue to advise caution amid the ongoing correction. Siddhartha Khemka from Motilal Oswal expects strong domestic fundamentals to support the broader recovery, while Ankur Punj from Equirus Wealth noted that while near-term market direction may remain mixed, strong domestic fundamentals are expected to support the recovery.
