Sensex, Nifty Recover From Early Losses In Volatile Trade

Indian equity benchmarks on Tuesday settled higher in volatile trade, extending their winning run for the fourth straight session. The domestic indices reversed their early session losses as Asian stocks turned positive after China slashed the Covid-19 quarantine time for inbound travellers by half. Quarantine at centralised facilities in Beijing has been reduced to seven days from 14.

However, a surge in crude oil prices after last week's rout, fanning inflation worries, kept gains in check. Brent crude futures climbed $1.77, or 1.54 per cent, to $116.86.

The 30-share BSE Sensex rose 16 points or 0.03 per cent to close at 53,177 today, while the broader NSE Nifty moved 18 points or 0.11 per cent up to settle at 15,850.

Mid- and small-cap shares finished on a mixed note as Nifty Midcap 100 climbed 0.29 per cent and small-cap shed 0.34 per cent.

Nine out of the 15 sector gauges -- compiled by the National Stock Exchange -- settled in the green. Sub-indexes Nifty Auto, Nifty Metal and Nifty Oil & Gas outperformed the platform by rising as much as 1.25 per cent, 1.67 per cent and 2.27 per cent, respectively.

"Markets witnessed a roller coaster ride in intra-day trades, but selective buying in IT, metal, auto and oil and gas stocks helped key benchmark indices recover at fag end to log modest gains," said Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Equity Research (Retail), Kotak Securities Ltd.

Recovery in Asian gauges also provided an impetus to local markets, Mr Chouhan added.

On the stock-specific front, ONGC was the top Nifty gainer as the stock soared 5.16 per cent to Rs 148.80. Hindalco, Coal India, M&M and Tech Mahindra were also among the gainers.

The overall market breadth stood positive as 1,794 shares advanced while 1,482 declined on BSE.

On the 30-share BSE index, M&M, Tata Steel, Reliance Industries, Dr Reddy's, TechM, L&T, HCL Tech, Axis Bank, ITC, Nestle India, Infosys and SBI were among the top gainers.

In contrast, Titan, Asian Paints, Bajaj Finserv, Kotak Mahindra Bank, ICICI Bank, Bajaj Finance, IndusInd Bank, HDFC, HDFC Bank, Sun Pharma, PowerGrid and Bharti Airtel finished in the red.    

Further, food delivery firm Zomato plunged 8.35 per cent to close at Rs 60.35 today.