New Delhi, 05 March (H.S.): Indian equities staged a robust recovery after three straight sessions of sharp declines, buoyed by Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht Ravanchi signaling potential nuclear concessions amid a favorable US alternative proposal, lifting global sentiment. Benchmark indices opened strong, wobbled mid-session, then rallied on broad buying in the final hour, with Sensex closing up 899.71 points (1.14%) at 80,015.90 and Nifty advancing 285.40 points (1.17%) to 24,765.90.

Most sectoral indices ended in green, led by metals, defense, and power stocks; banking, auto, capital goods, consumer durables, FMCG, healthcare, oil & gas, and PSEs also gained. IT and tech faced selling pressure, but broader markets shone—Nifty Midcap rose 1.52% and Smallcap 1.58%.

Investor wealth swelled by nearly ₹5.8 lakh crore, pushing BSE-listed firms' market cap to ₹452.98 lakh crore (provisional) from ₹447.18 lakh crore Wednesday. On BSE, 2,801 of 4,397 active stocks advanced, 1,456 declined, 140 unchanged; NSE saw 2,002 gainers vs. 951 losers among 2,953 stocks. Sensex had 19 gainers, Nifty 38.

Sensex opened at 79,530.48 (+414.29 points), dipped to 79,201.69 on selling, peaked at 80,303.83 (+1,187.64), before profit-booking trimmed gains. Nifty started at 24,615.95 (+135.45), hit 24,529.40 low and 24,854.20 high, settling at 24,765.90.

Top Nifty gainers: Adani Ports (+4.52%), L&T (+4.02%), Hindalco (+3.60%), NTPC (+3.35%), Reliance (+3.30%). Losers: Tech Mahindra (-1.32%), HCL Tech (-0.73%), ICICI Bank (-0.57%), SBI (-0.43%), TCS (-0.35%).

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar