New Delhi, 11 June (H.S.):

India’s domestic equity markets showed signs of recovery during early trading on Thursday, with both the Sensex and Nifty rebounding from their intraday lows after opening in negative territory. Although the benchmark indices remained in the red during the first hour of trading, sustained buying interest helped them recover a significant portion of their initial losses.

After the first hour of trading, the BSE Sensex was down 0.29 percent, while the NSE Nifty was trading 0.26 percent lower.

Among the major gainers during early trade were ICICI Bank, ONGC, Axis Bank, Bharti Airtel and Tata Consumer Products, whose shares advanced between 0.60 percent and 1.36 percent.

On the other hand, HCL Technologies, Infosys, Trent Limited, TCS and Eternal came under selling pressure and were trading lower by between 1.52 percent and 3.28 percent.

Market breadth remained negative during the morning session. Out of 2,709 actively traded stocks, 954 were trading higher, while 1,755 stocks were in the red.

Among the 30 constituent stocks of the Sensex, only seven were trading with gains, while 23 were under pressure. Similarly, within the Nifty 50 index, 14 stocks were trading higher and 36 stocks were trading lower.

The BSE Sensex opened 367.19 points lower at 73,615.99. Persistent selling pressure in the opening minutes pushed the index down to an intraday low of 73,518.75.

However, buying emerged at lower levels, helping the benchmark recover steadily. Supported by continued purchases, the Sensex climbed to an intraday high of 73,856.16 shortly before 10:00 a.m. Nevertheless, renewed selling pressure later trimmed some of the gains.

At 10:15 a.m., after the completion of the first hour of trading, the Sensex was quoted at 73,765.13, down 218.05 points from the previous close.

The NSE Nifty followed a similar pattern. The index opened 110.55 points lower at 23,104.40 and slipped further to an early low of 23,072.05 amid initial selling pressure.

Subsequent buying activity improved market sentiment, allowing the benchmark to recover and rise to an intraday high of 23,172.85 shortly before 10:00 a.m.

At 10:15 a.m., the Nifty was trading at 23,155.05, down 59.90 points from its previous closing level.

In the previous trading session on Wednesday, the Sensex had ended 64.42 points, or 0.09 percent, higher at 73,983.18. The Nifty, however, closed 27.15 points, or 0.12 percent lower, at 23,214.95.

Despite the weak opening on Thursday, the recovery from lower levels indicated that investors were selectively accumulating quality stocks, helping the market stabilize amid continued volatility.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar