Markets reverse early rout on RIL spurt

Mumbai: Benchmark indices rebounded from a massive selloff in early trade to finish with smart gains on Friday, supported by a rally in Reliance Industries and positive opening of European markets.

After plunging 1,190.27 points to hit a low of 32,348.10 in opening trade, the 30-share BSE Sensex clawed back lost ground to close at 33,780.89, up 242.52 points, or 0.72 per cent. Similarly, the NSE Nifty rose 70.90 points, or 0.72 per cent, to end at 9,972.90.

During the week, the Sensex declined 506.35 points or 1.47 per cent, while the Nifty fell 169.25 points or 1.66 per cent. Asian markets tanked after the Dow Jones suffered its biggest one-day drop since March on concerns over a second wave of coronavirus cases in the US. However, bargain hunting in banking and finance stocks, coupled with positive cues from Europe, supported the domestic bourses, traders said.

M&M was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, climbing 7.22 per cent, followed by Bajaj Finance, Hero MotoCorp, Reliance Industries (RIL), Titan and Bajaj Auto. On the other hand, ONGC, Tech Mahindra, PowerGrid, Infosys and Kotak Bank were among the major laggards, dropping up to 3.39 per cent. "A volatile day came to an end with the Nifty recovering around 300 points from the day's low. The major contributor to this gain was Reliance Industries which was also supported by technical bullishness. Markets tracked the positive opening in the European markets, post the sell-off seen yesterday, " said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

BSE auto, energy, telecom, realty and basic materials indices rallied up to 2.91 per cent, while IT, teck and power shed up to 1.49 per cent. Broader BSE mid-cap and small-cap indices gained up to 0.96 per cent. In rest of Asia, exchanges in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Seoul finished up to 2 per cent lower. However, bourses in Paris, Frankfurt and London rallied up to 2 per cent in early deals.