New Delhi, 03 June (H.S.): Supported by value buying at lower levels and a strong recovery in public-sector bank stocks, the domestic equity market managed to recover substantially from deep intraday losses on Wednesday. However, despite the rebound, both benchmark indices ended the session in negative territory.

Trading began on a weak note, and intense selling pressure across sectors immediately after the opening bell pushed both the Sensex and the Nifty sharply lower. The Sensex plunged by more than 1,150 points during the session, while the Nifty declined by over 330 points.

Market participants attributed the sharp fall to concerns over the possibility of the United States imposing additional tariffs on India and renewed geopolitical tensions in West Asia. However, aggressive buying in the second half of the session helped both indices recover significantly. The Sensex rebounded 1,023 points from its intraday low, while the Nifty recovered 308 points. Despite this impressive recovery, both indices remained in the red throughout the trading session and eventually closed lower.

At the close, the BSE Sensex ended down 303.67 points, or 0.41 percent, at 74,346.17, while the NSE Nifty declined 77.95 points, or 0.33 percent, to settle at 23,405.60.

The information technology sector witnessed heavy selling pressure throughout the day. As a result, the Nifty IT Index plunged 5.57 percent, while the BSE Tech Index closed 3.12 percent lower. Consumer Durables, FMCG, Oil & Gas, and Metal indices also ended in negative territory.

On the other hand, Public Sector Enterprise, Healthcare, Capital Goods, and Automobile indices finished higher. Selling pressure was also evident in the broader market, with the Nifty Midcap Index declining 0.42 percent and the Smallcap Index slipping 0.11 percent.

The market weakness erased more than ₹1 lakh crore from investors’ wealth. The total market capitalization of companies listed on the BSE declined to ₹460.98 lakh crore (provisional) at the close of trading, compared with ₹462.03 lakh crore in the previous session. As a result, investors suffered a notional loss of approximately ₹1.05 lakh crore during the day.

A total of 4,386 stocks were actively traded on the BSE. Among them, 1,812 advanced, 2,400 declined, and 174 remained unchanged. On the NSE, 2,985 stocks witnessed active trading, of which 1,208 closed higher and 1,777 ended lower.

Among the 30 Sensex constituents, 13 stocks advanced while 17 declined. Similarly, among the 50 Nifty constituents, 22 ended in the green and 28 closed in the red.

The Sensex opened 142.11 points lower at 74,507.73. Persistent selling pressure dragged the index down to an intraday low of 73,492.60 around noon, representing a decline of 1,157.24 points. Thereafter, buyers stepped in aggressively, triggering a steady recovery. Shortly before the close, the index had recovered 1,023.05 points from its day's low and climbed to 74,515.65. However, fresh selling in the final phase of trading pulled it lower, and the index eventually settled at 74,346.17.

Similarly, the Nifty opened 67.60 points lower at 23,415.95. After an initial recovery to 23,447.65, the benchmark came under sustained selling pressure and dropped to an intraday low of 23,151.50 by noon, down 332.05 points. Strong buying thereafter helped the index recover 308.15 points from its lowest level to touch 23,459.65. Nevertheless, renewed selling during the final thirty minutes of trade pushed it lower, and it closed at 23,405.60.

Among the day's top gainers, Apollo Hospitals rose 2.48 percent, followed by TMPV (2.04 percent), Max Healthcare (1.78 percent), State Bank of India (1.44 percent), and ICICI Bank (1.26 percent).

On the losing side, Tata Consultancy Services plunged 8.39 percent, followed by Tech Mahindra (6.31 percent), HCL Technologies (5.19 percent), Infosys (3.79 percent), and Wipro (2.74 percent), making them the session’s top losers.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar