Nifty closes above 23,400 as IT rally powers late rebound; Sensex up 382 points

NEW DELHI: Indian benchmark indices ended higher in a volatile session on Tuesday after trading in the red for most of the day, with the Nifty 50 closing comfortably above the 23,480 mark on a late pullback led by heavyweight IT stocks. At close, the Sensex was up 382.50 points, or 0.52 per cent, at 74,649.84, and the Nifty was up 100.95 points, or 0.43 per cent, at 23,483.55.

The Nifty opened with a downside gap and tested prior swing low support, which also turned out to be the day’s low, according to Sudeep Shah, Head – Technical and Derivatives Research at SBI Securities. The index then staged a steady pullback to close at 23,483, forming a bullish candle on the daily chart and indicating buying interest at lower levels. About 2,222 shares advanced, 1,803 declined, and 165 were unchanged.

The rally was powered by IT counters as the Nifty IT index surged 4.3 per cent, significantly outperforming the broader market. TCS, Infosys, HCL Technologies and Tech Mahindra emerged as the top Nifty gainers.

“Today’s Nifty move due to mainly IT sector,” said Mahesh M Ojha of KC Securities. He attributed the buying to rupee depreciation, which is positive for IT, and buzz around global tech companies. “Current study showing in some cases AI cost is higher from human being so the reason is for buying in IT also many stocks has faced lot of selling pressure suddenly so rebound from lower levels as many Nifty stocks are available at attractive levels,” Ojha added.

The Indian rupee edged lower to around Rs 95.1 per dollar, retreating from multi-week highs on Tuesday. Buying was also visible in PSU banks, auto, metal, consumer durables and realty stocks, with those indices gaining 0.5-1 per cent.

Broader markets participated too, with Nifty Midcap 100 up 0.2 per cent and Nifty Smallcap 100 up 0.4 per cent. Market breadth was positive, with 300 stocks from the Nifty 500 universe closing in the green, Shah noted. India VIX declined over 7%, indicating cooling volatility.

On the commodity front, crude oil eased from Monday’s highs but stayed elevated amid Middle East tensions. Brent crude futures were at USD 93.53 per barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate traded at USD 90.91 per barrel. The elevated crude levels kept power and oil marketing companies under pressure, though the IT-led bounce helped indices reverse early losses.

“Going ahead, the 23620-23650 zone is expected to act as an important hurdle. A sustained move above 23650 could trigger extension towards 23800. On the downside, 23400-23370 zone is likely to serve as crucial support,” he stressed.(ANI)