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Sensex off days low, Nifty claws back above 5700

The BSE Sensex traded off the day's low after falling nearly 160 points in early trade. The broader Nifty also clawed back above the 5,700 mark, while the rupee pared losses against the dollar at 54.96.

The recovery was led by gains in blue chip stocks such as Reliance Industries and banking stocks - the only sector that traded in the green.

Market analysts expect a bounce in the near term. Hemen Kapadia, director (research) at Fairwealth Securities told NDTV that the Nifty is slightly oversold, but the worst is not over yet.

"If a recovery does not make headway then 6,100 may not be on the horizon for the next six months," Mr Kapadia said.

Analysts have praised the Budget for not being populist ahead of an election year, but the absence of big bang reform announcements has weighed on sentiments. Uncertainty over certain tax provisions, that governs foreign investors, has also hurt sentiments, though the government has clarified these provisions through a press release and a series of conference calls with investors.

Taher Badshah, senior vice president and co-head equities at Motilal Oswal said the issue with markets is there are no big events or triggers to watch out for.

"Markets are in corrective mode. It's going to be a slow grind. People are taking money off the table," Mr Badshah said.

However, high beta names such as metals and realty continued to trade with over 2 per cent cuts. Capital goods and consumer durables also declined nearly 2 per cent.

17 shares traded higher on the Nifty led by mobile carrier Bharti Airtel, which gained 1.5 per cent. Drug maker Dr Reddy's advanced 1.3 per cent.

PSU banks such as SBI and Bank of Baroda gained, while Reliance Industries traded 0.4 per cent up.

Aluminium maker Hindalco was the top Nifty loser, down 4 per cent. Cement maker ACC and Jindal Steel and Power declined 3.9 per cent.

Iron ore miner Sesa Goa, Ambuja Cements, infra major Jaiprakash Associates, realty major DLF and Reliance Infra traded 3-3.5 per cent lower.

State-run NHPL was among the big losers today falling as much as 26 per cent. The stock traded 18 per cent lower at Rs 19.80 as of 2.45 p.m. Suzlon shares were down 8 per cent, while infra lender IFCI fell 7 per cent.