Mumbai, March 16 – The benchmark equity indices, Sensex and Nifty, rebounded on Monday after a three-day slump, driven by value buying in blue-chip stocks like HDFC Bank and State Bank of India.
In the initial trading session, the 30-share BSE Sensex declined by 179.31 points to 74,384.61. The 50-share NSE Nifty fell by 53.1 points to 23,098.
However, later, both the benchmark indices recovered. The BSE benchmark rose by 342.02 points to 74,899.76, while the Nifty gained 88.55 points to 23,240.95.
Among the 30 companies in the Sensex, UltraTech Cement, Tata Steel, InterGlobe Aviation, State Bank of India, HDFC Bank, and ITC were the top performers.
Bharat Electronics, Mahindra & Mahindra, Infosys, Trent, and Tata Consultancy Services were among the laggards.
In Asian markets, the South Korean Kospi, the Japanese Nikkei 225 index, and the Shanghai SSE Composite index were trading lower, while the Hong Kong Hang Seng index was higher.
The US market closed lower on Friday.
Brent crude, the global benchmark for oil, rose by 1 per cent to USD 104.2 per barrel.
"The market direction throughout the week is expected to remain heavily influenced by geopolitical developments in West Asia and movements in crude oil prices.
"The ongoing tensions involving Iran, Israel, and the US have disrupted energy markets and raised concerns over shipping routes through the Strait of Hormuz, keeping crude prices elevated and risk sentiment fragile," said Hariprasad K, Research Analyst and Founder, Livelong Wealth.
According to exchange data, Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) sold equities worth Rs 10,716.64 crore on Friday, while Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) bought stocks worth Rs 9,977.42 crore.
On Friday, the Sensex closed at 74,563.92, down 1,470.50 points or 1.93 per cent. The Nifty also fell by 488.05 points or 2.06 per cent, closing at 23,151.10.