Sensex Stages Late Recovery, Gains Nearly 400 Points From Day’s Low; Nifty Holds Above 24,250

Domestic equity markets staged a strong late-afternoon recovery on Tuesday, with the benchmark indices moving into positive territory after remaining under pressure for most of the session.

Gains in select heavyweight and broader-market stocks helped offset weakness in IT, metal and private banking shares. At 3:05 pm on August 25, the BSE Sensex was up 142.47 points, or 0.18%, at 77,518.58. The index had bounced nearly 394 points from its intraday low of 77,125.91.

The NSE Nifty also recovered, rising 0.12% to 24,256.80 after hitting a low of 24,115.45. The index had earlier slipped into negative territory amid broad-based selling.

The broader market remained mixed. The Nifty Next 50 gained 0.28%, while the Nifty Midcap 50, Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Midcap Select advanced 0.15%, 0.25% and 0.36%, respectively. Small-cap stocks continued to lag, with the Nifty Smallcap 100, 250 and 500 falling 0.13%, 0.17% and 0.25%.

Volatility also eased, with the India VIX declining 4.64% to 10.99.

Among sectoral indices, Nifty MidSmall IT & Telecom was the top performer, gaining 1.13%, followed by Nifty MidSmall Healthcare at 0.63% and Nifty Healthcare at 0.61%. Nifty Media, Consumer Durables, PSU Bank and Pharma also recorded gains.

Nifty Metal remained the biggest sectoral loser, declining 0.54%, while Nifty Private Bank fell 0.28%. Nifty Realty and Chemicals also traded lower, while Nifty IT slipped marginally.

In the Sensex pack, IndiGo led the gainers with a 1.35% rise, followed by Adani Ports, Trent and Titan. BEL and LT were also among the top performers, while Reliance Industries, Maruti Suzuki and Bajaj Finance traded higher.

HCLTech emerged as the biggest loser, declining 0.98%, while Tata Steel fell 0.97%. Power Grid, HDFC Bank and Hindustan Unilever were also among the major laggards. Kotak Mahindra Bank and Bajaj Finserv remained under pressure.

The late-session rebound helped the benchmark indices recover sharply from their intraday lows, although the mixed performance across sectors and market-cap segments indicated that buying remained selective.