MUMBAI– Indian equity markets staged a strong recovery in the final hour of trading on Monday, snapping back from steep Budget-day losses as heavy buying emerged in frontline stocks across sectors.
The Sensex rebounded sharply from its intraday low of 80,387.25, climbing as much as 1,345 points to hit a high of 81,732 before settling at 81,666. The benchmark index ended the session up 944 points, or 1.17 percent.
The Nifty also traded in a wide range through the day. After slipping to an intraday low of 24,679, the index rallied to 25,108 and closed at 25,088, gaining 263 points, or 1.06 percent.
The rebound came a day after markets recorded their sharpest Budget-day decline since February 2020. Monday’s recovery was broad-based, with midcap and smallcap stocks also closing higher.
Market sentiment improved visibly during the session, with the India VIX, a measure of market volatility, easing about 8 percent.
Power Grid emerged as the top gainer on the Sensex, surging 7.6 percent after the company’s management said its capital expenditure and capitalisation plans for FY26 were on track and that it remained confident of exceeding its annual guidance.
Other major gainers included Adani Ports, Bharat Electronics, Mahindra & Mahindra, Larsen & Toubro, IndiGo, UltraTech Cement, Asian Paints, ITC, Bajaj Finserv, Tata Steel, ICICI Bank, NTPC, Maruti Suzuki and SBI, with gains of up to 4.6 percent.
Only six Sensex stocks ended the session lower. Axis Bank, Infosys, TCS, Trent, Titan and Kotak Mahindra Bank closed in the red.
Broader markets also supported the rally, with the Nifty Midcap index rising 0.9 percent and the Nifty Smallcap index gaining 0.6 percent.
On the sectoral front, most indices finished higher. The Nifty Auto index led the gains with a rise of 2.14 percent, followed by the Nifty Metal index, up 1.8 percent, and the Nifty Realty index, which climbed 1.6 percent. The Nifty IT index was the only sector to end lower, slipping 0.5 percent.
In the commodities market, precious metals remained under pressure. MCX silver futures fell sharply by 6.4 percent to close at Rs 2,48,600 per kilogram. Gold prices, however, recovered from the day’s lows, with MCX gold futures ending nearly flat, down 0.1 percent at Rs 1,47,600 per 10 grams. (Source: IANS)
