Sensex, Nifty Rebound on US Tariff Announcement

Mumbai, Apr 2 (PTI) Stock markets recovered on Wednesday with benchmark Sensex closing higher by nearly 593 points on strong macro data and value buying by investors after recent free-fall ahead of US tariff announcements.

The 30-share BSE Sensex rebounded 592.93 points or 0.78 per cent to settle at 76,617.44. During the day, it surged 655.84 points or 0.86 per cent to 76,680.35.

The NSE Nifty climbed 166.65 points or 0.72 per cent to 23,332.35.

Value buying in select auto, banking and IT shares, and India's manufacturing sector growth rising to an eight-month high in March powered the recovery in the domestic stock markets. Sensex had tanked 1,390 points or 1.80 per cent and Nifty plunged by 353 points on Tuesday due to FII selling ahead of US tariff announcements on Wednesday.

From the Sensex pack, Zomato jumped nearly 5 per cent, followed by Titan which climbed almost 4 per cent.

IndusInd Bank, Maruti, Tech Mahindra, Adani Ports, Bharti Airtel and HDFC Bank were also among the gainers.

However, Nestle, Power Grid, UltraTech Cement, Bajaj Finserv and Larsen & Toubro were among the laggards.

"This optimism was largely driven by expectations that the tariffs would have a minimal impact on the domestic economy, given the positive progress in India-US trade negotiations. Sentiments were further reinforced by India's manufacturing PMI for March, which reached an eight-month high, hinting at a recovery in Q4FY25 corporate earnings," Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Limited, said.

In Asian markets, Tokyo and Shanghai settled in the positive territory while Seoul and Hong Kong ended lower.

European markets were quoting mostly lower. US markets ended mostly higher on Tuesday.

India's manufacturing sector growth rose to an eight-month high in March, driven by quicker increases in factory orders and production amid buoyant demand conditions, a monthly survey said on Wednesday.

The seasonally adjusted HSBC India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) was at 58.1 in March, up from 56.3 in February, indicating a substantial improvement in the health of the sector that was above its long-run average.

"Despite mixed global cues surrounding the impending US tariffs, the domestic market experienced steady gains. This optimism was largely driven by expectations that the tariffs would have a minimal impact on the domestic economy, given the positive progress in the India-US trade negotiations," Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Limited, said.

Sentiments were further reinforced by India's manufacturing PMI for March, which reached an eight-month high, hinting at a recovery in Q4 FY25 corporate earnings, he added.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 5,901.63 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data. Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) were buyers as they bought equities worth Rs 4,322.58 crore.

"Markets rebounded after Tuesday's decline, gaining over half a per cent. Most key sectors contributed to the recovery, with realty, FMCG, and banking leading the gains," Ajit Mishra – SVP, Research, Religare Broking Ltd, said.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude dipped 0.12 per cent up to USD 74.40 a barrel.

The BSE benchmark tanked 1,390.41 points or 1.80 per cent to settle at 76,024.51 on Tuesday. The Nifty dropped 353.65 points or 1.50 per cent to 23,165.70.