Markets rebound nearly 1 pc; Sensex surges over 760 pts as FMCG, IT shares gain
Mumbai, May 23 (PTI): Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty rebounded sharply by nearly 1 per cent on Friday, propelled by buying in market heavyweights Reliance Industries, HDFC Bank and ITC.
Besides, hopes of a record dividend from the RBI and easing US treasury yields bolstered investor sentiment, traders said.
After a flat start, the 30-share BSE benchmark bounced back and surged 769.09 points or 0.95 per cent to settle at 81,721.08. During the day, it jumped 953.18 points or 1.17 per cent to 81,905.17.
As many as 2,361 stocks advanced while 1,589 declined and 156 remained unchanged on the BSE.
The NSE Nifty rallied 243.45 points or 0.99 per cent to 24,853.15.
On a weekly basis, the BSE benchmark dropped 609.51 points or 0.74 per cent and the Nifty declined 166.65 points or 0.66 per cent.
"The domestic market has recouped nearly half of the week’s losses, supported by gains in FMCG and IT stocks. FMCG benefitted from the early and above-normal monsoon forecast, while IT stocks saw a rebound following a healthy correction.
"Optimism around a potentially record-high dividend from the RBI is boosting hopes for fiscal consolidation, reflected in falling Indian bond yields," Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Limited, said.
From the Sensex firms, Eternal, Power Grid, ITC, Bajaj Finserv, Nestle, Axis Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Adani Ports were among the biggest gainers.
On the other hand, Sun Pharma was the only laggard, declining nearly 2 per cent.
The company's stock fell after it reported a nearly 19 per cent drop in consolidated net profit for the quarter ended March 31, 2025.
The BSE midcap gauge climbed 0.50 per cent and smallcap index went up by 0.45 per cent.
FMCG jumped 1.49 per cent, utilities (1.02 per cent), power (1.01 per cent), financial services (0.99 per cent), bankex (0.99 per cent), oil & gas (0.94 per cent) and energy (0.82 per cent).
In Asian markets, Japan's Nikkei 225 index and Hong Kong's Hang Seng settled in positive territory, while South Korea's Kospi and Shanghai's SSE Composite index ended lower.
Markets in Europe were trading higher in mid-session deals.
US markets ended largely flat in overnight trade on Thursday.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude dipped 0.23 per cent to USD 64.29 a barrel.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 5,045.36 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data.
"Investor attention is further revolving around US-India trade talks and strong domestic macroeconomic indicators. However, recent FII outflows, driven by rising US bond yields amid concerns over mounting US debt, may weigh on the market sentiment," Nair said.
On Thursday, the BSE Sensex tanked 644.64 points, or 0.79 per cent, to settle at 80,951.99. The Nifty tumbled 203.75 points, or 0.82 per cent, to 24,609.70.
"Markets quickly rebounded after a subdued opening, as short-covering helped benchmark indices stay in positive territory thereafter. The market has been volatile throughout the week, as concerns over US fiscal health due to rising debt and interest rates seen unchanged weighed on sentiment," Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities Ltd, said.
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Ex-minister Ramanath Rai hits out at BJP leader Ashoka for ‘irresponsible’ comments on KC Venugopal
Mangaluru: Congress leader and former minister B Ramanath Rai slammed BJP leader R Ashoka for calling AICC General Secretary KC Venugopal an agent of the party high command, and asked if the general secretary and other office-bearers in the BJP were commission agents too.
Rai, who addressed a press meet at the Congress office in the city on Friday, expressed fury over the recent comments of the BJP leader that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah was presenting himself in a shameless manner in public life. Ashoka, who is also Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly, had said that the Congress government had ‘broken every previous record on corruption-related controversies’.
“Ashoka has spoken with sheer ignorance and displays his lack of maturity, as he often does while facing the media. KC Venugopal has been working at organization of the party and it is unbecoming of Ashoka to criticize Venugopal as he did,” Rai told reporters.
“Being in a responsible position, how acceptable is it for Ashoka to pass disrespectful, random comments about another leader who also holds a responsible position? If KC Venugopal is indeed an agent of the party high command, what should we consider BJP leaders to be? Are they brokers?” he asked
Commenting on Ashoka’s allegations of corruption in the Congress government in Karnataka, Rai pointed out, “The KSRTC land was sold to private parties when he (Ashoka) was transport minister. We can find several such cases across the state, which need to be probed.”
The former minister, however, refused to comment on the incident that occurred at Mangaluru airport during CM Siddaramaiah’s visit to the city recently.
Former mayors Ashraf and Shashidhar Hegde, Congress activists Vishwas Kumar Das, Subhodaya Alva, Shabeer, Baby Kundar, Padmanabha, Nazeer Bajal and Prem were present.
