Mumbai |
After witnessing a sharp fall in the previous trading session, the Indian stock markets bounced back in early trade on Wednesday, driven by renewed buying interest in blue-chip stocks such as HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, and Tech Mahindra.
The BSE Sensex climbed 256.82 points to 76,281.33, while the NSE Nifty rose 84.9 points to 23,250.60 in early trade.
Among the Sensex gainers were Tech Mahindra, Infosys, HDFC Bank, Maruti, ICICI Bank, Bharti Airtel, Zomato, and Adani Ports. On the other hand, Nestle, UltraTech Cement, Hindustan Unilever, and Tata Motors registered losses.
Global & Domestic Market Trends
Asian markets showed mixed sentiment: Shanghai and Hong Kong traded in the green, while Seoul and Tokyo edged lower. Meanwhile, US markets ended mostly higher on Tuesday, providing some support to early optimism in Indian equities.
FII-DII Activity
According to exchange data:
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Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth ₹5,901.63 crore on Tuesday.
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Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs), in contrast, were net buyers, purchasing equities worth ₹4,322.58 crore.
Expert Commentary: What’s Driving the Volatility?
VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services, explained:
“The element of uncertainty regarding reciprocal tariffs is expected to come down with the tariff declaration today. But considering Trump’s flip flops on tariffs earlier, the uncertainty is likely to continue beyond today.”
He added:
“It appears that FIIs turning buyers in the last several trading days of March was triggered by end of year considerations.”
“The short-covering which FII buying triggered contributed to India’s outperformance in March. Now with FIIs selling for ₹10,255 crore in the cash market in two days, the shorting has resumed. This was reflected in the 353-point sharp cut in Nifty yesterday.”
Other Indicators
- Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, traded marginally higher by 0.03% at USD 74.51 per barrel.
- On Tuesday, the BSE benchmark dropped 1,390.41 points (1.80%), and the Nifty fell 353.65 points (1.50%), reflecting heavy selling pressure from FIIs.
As markets attempt to stabilize, investor attention remains focused on global tariff announcements, FII flows, and earnings cues, all of which will likely dictate near-term sentiment.
