Market Rebounds: Nifty and Sensex Climb After Yesterday’s Steep Drop
The Indian stock market saw a strong recovery on January 22, as benchmark indices Nifty and Sensex bounced back from yesterday’s sharp crash, bringing relief to investors. Bank and FMCG stocks led the charge, although caution lingered in metal and PSU bank stocks, which tempered the rally.
This rebound comes after a turbulent day that saw the indices hit a seven-month low, with a massive ₹7 lakh crore in market value wiped out amid high volatility.
Global cues also played a role in today’s recovery. Wall Street’s rally on Tuesday, where the S&P 500 and Dow reached their highest levels in over a month, provided a positive backdrop. Investors appeared reassured by U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to hold back on broad tariff hikes as he began his second term.
By 9:30 AM, the Sensex was up 304.42 points (0.40%) at 76,142.78, while the Nifty gained 66.15 points (0.29%) to trade at 23,090.80 Nifty. Advancing stocks outnumbered decliners, with 829 shares gaining, 2,071 losing, and 113 remaining unchanged.
Market Still Faces Headwinds
Ruchit Jain, Vice President of Technical Research at Motilal Oswal, cautioned that today’s rally might be temporary. “The market remains in a corrective phase, with pullback attempts consistently met with selling pressure,” he said. He noted that mid-cap and small-cap indices struggled to move past their 20-day exponential moving average (EMA), highlighting resistance in these segments.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) have also maintained bearish positions, with around 83% of their trades on the short side. Their sustained selling in the cash market has added further pressure on stock prices.
Looking ahead, attention is now shifting to India’s upcoming Union Budget. Expectations are high for increased government capital expenditure and possible income tax relief, given this is the government’s first full budget of its term.
Sector Highlights
The FMCG, IT, and Pharma sectors led today’s gains, with tech heavyweights Infosys, Wipro, and Sun Pharma rising by up to 0.6%. Nifty Bank and Auto indices also posted modest gains of 0.3% each.
However, metal stocks remained under pressure, with the Nifty Metal index slipping 1%. Tata Steel, Vedanta, and Adani Enterprises were the key laggards in this sector. PSU banks also extended their losing streak for the second consecutive session, with SBI, Canara Bank, and Punjab National Bank dragging the sector lower.
Meanwhile, the Realty index shed 1.6% in morning trade, further highlighting the mixed sentiment across sectors.
Key Stock Movements
- Tata Technologies: Shares dropped 3% after reporting a marginal decline in Q3 net profit to ₹169 crore, compared to ₹170 crore a year ago. However, sequentially, the company’s profit rose 7% from Q2FY25. Revenue grew 2% year-on-year to ₹1,317 crore.
- IndiaMART InterMESH: The stock tanked 10% despite a 47.6% YoY jump in Q3 net profit to ₹121 crore. Revenue from operations increased 16% to ₹354.3 crore.
- Jana Small Finance Bank: Shares surged 14% even though Q3 net profit fell 17.8% YoY to ₹110.6 crore. The bank’s net interest income (NII) grew 8.1% to ₹593 crore, offering some support to investor sentiment.
Major Gainers and Losers
Top Gainers: Wipro, Sun Pharma, TCS, ITC, and Infosys.
Top Losers: BEL, Power Grid, Tata Motors, Adani Enterprises, and Coal India.
As the market regains its footing, experts emphasize a stock-specific approach, focusing on companies with strong fundamentals and earnings visibility, rather than expecting a broad-based recovery.