Sensex, Nifty rebound sharply after Budget-Day rout

Indian equity markets bounced back strongly in the final hour of trade on Monday, helped by late buying in heavyweight stocks such as Adani Ports, Bharat Electronics, L&T, Mahindra & Mahindra, ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank.

The Sensex recovered sharply from its intra-day low of 80,387.25. It jumped as much as 1,345 points to touch a high of 81,732 before closing at 81,666. The index ended the day up 944 points, or 1.17 per cent.

Similarly, the Nifty moved in a wide range during the day. After hitting a low of 24,679, the index climbed to 25,108 and finally settled at 25,088, gaining 263 points or 1.06 per cent.

The rebound came a day after markets suffered their sharpest Budget-day fall since February 2020. The recovery was broad-based, with midcap and smallcap stocks also ending higher.

The improvement in sentiment was reflected in the India VIX, the market’s fear gauge, which slipped 8 per cent during the session.

Power Grid emerged as the top gainer on the Sensex, rising 7.6 per cent. The stock rallied after the company’s management said its capital expenditure and capitalisation plans for FY26 were on track and that it was confident of exceeding its annual guidance.

Other major gainers included Adani Ports, Bharat Electronics, M&M, L&T, IndiGo, UltraTech Cement, Asian Paints, ITC, Bajaj Finserv, Tata Steel, ICICI Bank, NTPC, Maruti Suzuki and SBI. These stocks gained up to 4.6 per cent.

On the losing side, only six Sensex stocks closed in the red. Axis Bank, Infosys, TCS, Trent, Titan and Kotak Mahindra Bank ended lower.

The broader markets also supported the rally. The Nifty Midcap index rose 0.9 per cent, while the Nifty Smallcap index gained 0.6 per cent.

Sector-wise, most indices ended in positive territory. The Nifty Auto index climbed 2.14 per cent, followed by the Nifty Metal index, which gained 1.8 per cent, and the Nifty Realty index, up 1.6 per cent. The Nifty IT index was the only sectoral loser, slipping 0.5 per cent.

In the commodity market, precious metals continued to remain under pressure. MCX Silver futures fell sharply by 6.4 per cent to close at Rs 2,48,600 per kilogram.

Gold prices, however, recovered from the day’s lows, with MCX Gold futures ending nearly flat, down 0.1 per cent at Rs 1,47,600 per 10 grams.