Markets rally amid global rebound

Mumbai: The Sensex rallied 620 points while the Nifty reclaimed the 17,100-level on Wednesday as investors piled into recently-battered banking, finance and energy counters amid a recovery in global equities despite lingering concerns over the Omicron coronavirus variant.

A sharp jump in the rupee and encouraging macroeconomic data further enthused domestic investors, traders said. The 30-share BSE Sensex rallied 619.92 points or 1.09 per cent to close at 57,684.79. Similarly, the NSE Nifty surged 183.70 points or 1.08 per cent to 17,166.90.

IndusInd Bank was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, spurting 5.73 per cent, followed by Axis Bank, SBI, Tech Mahindra, Maruti and Reliance Industries. On the other hand, Dr Reddy's, UltraTech Cement, Sun Pharma, Bharti Airtel, Titan and Kotak Bank were among the laggards, shedding up to 1.58 per cent. "After the sharp sell-off in the global markets yesterday, Indian equities reversed course following recovery in global markets and strong domestic GDP data. India's Q2 GDP recorded a growth of 8.4 per cent as economic activity moved towards normalcy after the impact of the second wave.

The seasonally adjusted IHS Markit India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI), increased from 55.9 in October to 57.6 in November, signalling the strongest improvement in the health of the sector in ten months. Besides, GST mop-up in November grew 25 per cent to Rs 1.31 lakh crore - second highest since its implementation - indicating economic recovery with normalisation of business activity and increased compliance. This is the fifth month in a row that the revenues from goods sold and services rendered was over Rs 1 lakh crore.

Sector-wise, BSE metal, energy, bankex, auto and finance indices climbed as much as 2.40 per cent, while healthcare, consumer durables and telecom finished lower. The BSE midcap and smallcap indices climbed up to 1 per cent. Global markets clawed back some lost ground on bargain hunting, even as multiple countries imposed travel restrictions to contain the spread of the Omicron variant.