Sensex Surges 680 Points, Nifty Tops 22,600; IT and PSU Banks Lead Gains

Indian stock markets bounced back sharply on Monday, October 5, after four straight sessions of losses, with the Sensex gaining more than 680 points and the Nifty reclaiming the 22,600 level in early trade.

The rebound was broad-based, led by banking, IT, financial services and consumer stocks. However, auto and pharmaceutical shares continued to face selling pressure. At 9:49 am, the Sensex was trading 683.29 points, or 0.95%, higher at 72,592.99. The Nifty was up 188.60 points, or 0.84%, at 22,610.55.

IT Stocks Join the Rally

IT stocks, which had initially lagged the broader recovery, turned positive during the morning session. The Nifty IT index climbed 1.43%.

TCS was among the strongest performers, rising 2.32%, while Tech Mahindra gained 0.97%. Infosys edged up 0.13%. HCLTech, however, remained under pressure and slipped 0.59%.

The sector is being closely watched following the latest earnings and outlook from Accenture, with investors assessing the potential impact on Indian IT companies.

PSU Banks Outperform

Banking stocks remained at the forefront of the market recovery. The Nifty PSU Bank index advanced 1.98%, while the Nifty Bank index gained 1.20%.

Axis Bank rose 1.54%, SBI gained 1.21%, ICICI Bank advanced 0.95% and HDFC Bank was up 0.89%. The Nifty Financial Services index also climbed 1.20%.

Bajaj Finance emerged as the biggest Sensex gainer, jumping 4.29%. TCS, Axis Bank, Reliance Industries, Titan and ITC also recorded gains of around 1.4-1.5%.

Larsen & Toubro, Power Grid, SBI, IndiGo and Bharti Airtel were among the other notable gainers.

Auto, Pharma Remain Weak

The recovery remained uneven, with several sectors continuing to struggle.

The Nifty Auto index declined 0.37%, while the Nifty Pharma index slipped 0.46%. The Nifty Healthcare index was down 0.64%.

Among individual stocks, BEL fell 0.83%, Sun Pharma declined 0.81%, Asian Paints lost 0.60% and HCLTech dropped 0.59%.

• Midcaps and Smallcaps Also Gain
• The broader market participated strongly in the rebound.

The Nifty Midcap 100 gained 1%, while the Nifty Smallcap 100 advanced 0.89%. The Nifty 500 rose 0.82% and the Nifty 200 gained 0.84%.

India VIX, meanwhile, declined 0.83% to 14.34, indicating some easing in market volatility.

RBI Policy Decision Next Key Trigger

Investor attention is now turning to the Reserve Bank of India’s monetary policy announcement on October 7.

Markets are pricing in the possibility of a 25-basis-point repo rate hike, while investors are also monitoring inflation, crude oil prices, US bond yields and geopolitical developments.

V K Vijayakumar, chief investment strategist at Geojit Investments, said the market could be poised for a near-term rebound following eight consecutive weeks of declines.

He cited better-than-expected Accenture results and Anup Bagchi’s appointment as HDFC Bank’s MD and CEO among the factors that could support a turnaround. However, elevated crude prices, high US bond yields and continued foreign institutional selling remain concerns.

Vijayakumar also pointed to attractive valuations, particularly among large-cap stocks, and strong September auto sales as signs of resilience in the domestic economy.

He expects the RBI to raise the repo rate by 25 basis points on October 7, saying the move has largely been factored into market prices. He added that higher floating rates could support banks by improving their margins.

Sensex, Nifty Had Hit Fresh Lows

Monday’s recovery follows a difficult stretch for the domestic market.

On Thursday, the Sensex fell 570.59 points, or 0.79%, to close at 71,909.70. During the session, it plunged as much as 1,187.41 points to hit a fresh 52-week low of 71,292.88.

The Nifty also dropped 198.50 points, or 0.88%, to end at 22,421.95.

Heavy foreign investor selling, rising crude prices and elevated US bond yields had weighed on sentiment.

The sharp early rebound on Monday offers some relief to investors, but the market’s next direction will depend on the RBI’s policy stance and whether global pressures, particularly crude prices and foreign fund outflows, begin to ease.