Investors richer by over Rs 5 lakh cr as markets bounce back

A sharp rebound in equity markets made investors richer by over Rs 5 lakh crore on Friday, with the BSE benchmark Sensex rallying 1,534 points after a rough day in the previous trade.

Making a dashing comeback after the previous session's heavy sell-off, the 30-share BSE Sensex rallied 1,534.16 points or 2.91 per cent to settle at 54,326.39.

The rally in equities helped the market capitalisation of BSE-listed firms jump by Rs 5,05,143.44 crore to reach Rs 2,54,11,537.52 crore.

"Market took a complete U-turn from Thursday's slump as bargain hunting following the recent crash and recovery in other Asian indices bolstered the sentiment back home," said Amol Athawale, Deputy Vice President - Technical Research, Kotak Securities Ltd.

The BSE benchmark had dived 1,416.30 points or 2.61 per cent to close at 52,792.23 on Thursday.

All the Sensex firms ended in the green, with Dr Reddy's, Reliance Industries, Nestle, Tata Steel, Larsen & Toubro, Axis Bank, Sun Pharma, IndusInd Bank, State Bank of India and HDFC emerging as the biggest gainers.

"Markets rebounded sharply and gained nearly 3 per cent, in continuation of the prevailing volatile trend. The benchmark witnessed a gap-up opening, taking cues from the Asian counterparts and gradually inched higher as the session progressed," said Ajit Mishra, VP - Research, Religare Broking Ltd.

In the broader market, the BSE smallcap gauge jumped 2.13 per cent and the midcap index rallied 1.98 per cent.

As many as 2,497 stocks advanced, while 777 declined and 144 remained unchanged.

"The market displayed a confident yet calm rally throughout the day, supported by fortified global markets, especially the Asian market. The Chinese central bank cut a key interest rate to support growth, injecting optimism into emerging markets," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

All BSE sectoral indices ended higher, with realty jumping 4.22 per cent, followed by metal (3.75 per cent), capital goods (3.14 per cent), industrials (3.05 per cent), and healthcare (3.04 per cent) and energy (2.97 per cent).