New Delhi, 23 April (H.S.):
India’s domestic equity benchmarks staged a partial recovery on Thursday after a sharp early‑session dip, as investors gradually stepped in to buy on weakness and trimmed initial losses in the Sensex and Nifty. Although the broader market remained in negative territory by mid‑morning, the trend shifted from outright weakness to a more nuanced, range‑bound trade.
The BSE Sensex opened lower at 77,983.66, down 532.83 points, and quickly slipped further to an intraday low of 77,693.06, losing 823.43 points on the day. By 10:00 a.m., however, aggressive buying interest helped pare losses, with the index trading at 78,084.83, down 431.66 points or about 0.55 percent. Similarly, the NSE Nifty began the session at 24,202.35, dropping to 24,134.80 before regaining ground to 24,287.45, still 90.65 points or 0.37 percent lower.
Across the broader market, about 2,704 scrips were actively trading by 10:00 a.m., reflecting healthy participation amid volatility. Of these, 1,349 shares were in the green, while 1,355 were in the red, indicating a near‑equal split between gainers and losers. Among the 30 Sensex constituents, only eight were trading higher, while 22 were in negative territory, underscoring that heavyweight sentiment remained cautious even as some counters found support.
Sectoral and stock‑specific moves painted a mixed picture. Pharma heavyweights such as Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories, Cipla and Sun Pharmaceutical, along with power major ONGC and food‑and‑FMCG giant Nestlé, posted gains ranging from 1.01 percent to 6.37 percent, bucking the broader sell‑off. On the flip side, technology‑heavy Tech Mahindra, Eternus, auto giant Mahindra & Mahindra, financial‑services firm Shriram Finance and premium‑retailer Trent all declined between 1.98 percent and 2.34 percent, dragging down the major indices.
The recovery in the benchmark indices comes on the back of a subdued close on Wednesday, when the Sensex ended 756.84 points, or 0.95 percent, lower at 78,516.49, while the Nifty slipped 198.50 points, or 0.81 percent, to 24,378.10. Market participants now await the remainder of the session to see whether the morning‑hour rebound sustains or whether profit‑booking and global cues push sentiment back toward weakness.
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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar
