The equity markets on Tuesday rebounded with a 1% gain following a rise in IT and pharma stocks, a day after benchmark indices crashed 3% on fears of a new strain of the COVID-19 virus.
Buoyed by global cues, the indices opened in positive territory, slumped soon after, but bounced back in the second half. The S&P BSE Sensex rose 453 points or 0.99% to 46,007 points.
All sectoral indices that fell on Monday were back with gains. Top Sensex gainers included HCL Tech that rose 5.09%, Tech Mahindra (4.33%), Infosys (3.78%), PowerGrid (2.67%) and Sun Pharma, which climbed 2.64%. The NSE Nifty 50 index also rose 1.03% to 13,466.30 points.
Sameet Chavan, chief analyst (Technical and Derivatives), Angel Broking said, “The second half turned out to be excellent for the markets; we witnessed V-shaped recovery. IT stocks were the real charioteer and once again came to the rescue.”
“For the next couple of days at least, the index is likely to remain in a slightly wider range before deciding its next path. The ideal range [for the Nifty] would be 13,600 to 13,100, where the lower range should be seen as a sacrosanct support,” he added. Other analysts said the volatility in the market would remain high in the near term due to strict lockdowns and with travel restrictions impacting economic recovery.
