Mumbai | Benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty rebounded sharply by around 1 per cent on Wednesday, propelled by softening crude oil prices and hectic buying in bank, financial and IT shares.
Besides, growing expectations of an India-US trade deal and foreign funds turning net buyers in the domestic market supported the firm trend in equities, traders said.
The 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 790.54 points, or 1.04 per cent, to settle at 76,991.22. During the day, it surged 989.69 points, or 1.29 per cent, to 77,190.37.
A total of 2,215 stocks advanced, while 2,034 declined and 181 remained unchanged on the BSE.
The 50-share NSE Nifty climbed 197.55 points, or 0.83 per cent, to end at 24,021.65.
"Domestic equities ended higher, supported by positive Asian cues and a sharp drop in crude prices following improved traffic at the Strait of Hormuz, alongside growing expectations of an imminent India-US trade deal," Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Limited, said.
From the Sensex pack, InterGlobe Aviation, Trent, Tech Mahindra, Bajaj Finance, ICICI Bank, Infosys, HDFC Bank and Tata Consultancy Services were among the major winners.
In contrast, NTPC, Tata Steel, Maruti and Bharat Electronics were among the laggards.
The BSE SmallCap Select index edged higher by 0.44 per cent, and the MidCap Select index went up by 0.32 per cent.
Sectorally, the BSE Private Banks index climbed 2.21 per cent, Realty (2.17 per cent), Services (2.14 per cent), IT (1.81 per cent), Bankex (1.78 per cent), Focused IT (1.68 per cent) and MidSmall Private Banks Quality Tilt (1.64 per cent).
Industrials, Telecommunication, Utilities (0.79 per cent), and Power were among the laggards.
"The surge came on the back of falling prices of crude oil amidst relief about the situation between the USA and Iran, as well as the possibility of uninterrupted energy flow through the Strait of Hormuz. Favourable international factors, foreign institutional investors’ purchases, strength in bank stocks, and IT companies were other positive factors for the market," Vikram Kasat, Head Advisory, PL Capital, said.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, dropped 1.69 per cent to USD 75.78 per barrel.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 17.86 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data.
A senior US official has said that the United States and India are "very, very close" to concluding a historic bilateral trade deal that will open the 1.4 billion-strong Indian market to American goods on reciprocal and mutually beneficial terms.
"Indian equity markets rebounded sharply from the previous session's sell-off, led by strong gains in banking stocks and a recovery in the IT sector. Sentiment improved as easing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, and a further decline in crude oil prices helped restore risk appetite and support broader market participation," Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money, an online trading and wealth tech firm, said.
In Asian markets, South Korea's Kospi climbed over 3 per cent after a steep decline in the previous trading session. Shanghai's SSE Composite index and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index also settled higher, while Japan's Nikkei 225 index ended lower.
Markets in Europe were trading on a mixed note.
US markets ended sharply lower on Tuesday. The Nasdaq Composite tumbled 2.21 per cent, and the S&P 500 dropped 1.44 per cent.
On Tuesday, the Sensex tanked 893.39 points, or 1.16 per cent, to settle at 76,200.68. The Nifty dropped 278.80 points, or 1.16 per cent, to end at 23,824.10.
