Sensex rebounds 593 points, Nifty ends above 23,300 ahead of US tariff announcements

Mumbai: Stock markets rebounded on Wednesday with benchmark Sensex closing higher by nearly 593 points on strong macro data and value buying in banking and auto shares after recent free fall, even as investors awaited US tariff announcements that are expected later in the day.

The 30-share BSE Sensex rebounded 592.93 points or 0.78 per cent to settle at 76,617.44. During the day, it surged 655.84 points or 0.86 per cent to 76,680.35.

The NSE Nifty climbed 166.65 points or 0.72 per cent to 23,332.35.

Value buying in select auto, banking and IT shares, and India's manufacturing sector growth rising to an eight-month high in March powered the recovery in the domestic stock markets. Sensex had tanked 1,390 points or 1.80 per cent and Nifty plunged by 353 points on Tuesday due to FII selling ahead of US tariff announcements on Wednesday.

From the Sensex pack, Zomato jumped nearly 5 per cent, followed by Titan which climbed almost 4 per cent.

IndusInd Bank, Maruti, Tech Mahindra, Adani Ports, Bharti Airtel and HDFC Bank were also among the gainers.

However, Nestle, Power Grid, UltraTech Cement, Bajaj Finserv and Larsen & Toubro were among the laggards.

"This optimism was largely driven by expectations that the tariffs would have a minimal impact on the domestic economy, given the positive progress in India-US trade negotiations. Sentiments were further reinforced by India's manufacturing PMI for March, which reached an eight-month high, hinting at a recovery in Q4FY25 corporate earnings," Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Limited, said.

"Trump’s decision on reciprocal taxes introduces a new wave of uncertainty in global trade dynamics. For India, this could mean short-term volatility in equity markets, especially in export-driven sectors like Automobile, Pharma and IT. While selective large-cap stocks from these sectors may face pressure due to tariffs headwinds, India’s strong domestic consumption story remains intact, offering resilience," Amit Jain, Co-Founder of Ashika Global Family Office Services, said.

The BSE midcap gauge jumped 1.38 per cent and smallcap index climbed 0.99 per cent.

All BSE sectoral indices ended higher. Realty index surged the most by 3.62 per cent, followed by consumer durables (2.62 per cent), consumer discretionary (1.70 per cent), telecommunication (1.22 per cent), teck (1.18 per cent), services (1.10 per cent) and IT (0.93 per cent).

As many as 2,863 stocks advanced while 1,091 declined and 131 remained unchanged on the BSE.

In Asian markets, Tokyo and Shanghai settled in the positive territory while Seoul and Hong Kong ended lower.

European markets were quoting mostly lower. US markets ended mostly higher on Tuesday.

India's manufacturing sector growth rose to an eight-month high in March, driven by quicker increases in factory orders and production amid buoyant demand conditions, a monthly survey said on Wednesday.

The seasonally adjusted HSBC India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) was at 58.1 in March, up from 56.3 in February, indicating a substantial improvement in the health of the sector that was above its long-run average.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 5,901.63 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data. Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) were buyers as they bought equities worth Rs 4,322.58 crore.

"Markets rebounded after Tuesday’s decline, gaining over half a per cent. Most key sectors contributed to the recovery, with realty, FMCG, and banking leading the gains," Ajit Mishra - SVP, Research, Religare Broking Ltd, said.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude dipped 0.12 per cent up to USD 74.40 a barrel.

The BSE benchmark tanked 1,390.41 points or 1.80 per cent to settle at 76,024.51 on Tuesday. The Nifty dropped 353.65 points or 1.50 per cent to 23,165.70.