Stock markets opened higher as the Sensex and Nifty staged a rebound after a sharp sell-off in the previous session. IT stocks led the recovery, supported by gains in Tata Consultancy Services following its September-quarter results.
The BSE Sensex rose 449.84 points, or 0.63%, to 72,043.08 in early morning trade. The index opened at 71,776.67 and touched an early high of 72,060.51. The Nifty 50 gained 150.95 points, or 0.68%, to 22,382.75, having opened at 22,314.95 and hit an early high of 22,388.70.
The rebound followed a sharp decline in the previous session when the Sensex plunged 1,045 points, or 1.44%, to close at 71,593.24, while the Nifty fell 371 points, or 1.64%, to settle at 22,231.80. Both benchmarks previously came under pressure amid concerns over rising crude oil prices, foreign investor outflows, and the Reserve Bank of India's tighter monetary policy stance.
The Nifty IT index rose 2.27% in early trade, emerging as the best-performing sectoral index among market data. TCS shares were in focus after the company reported its September-quarter results and issued a statement indicating that the US suspension of the green-card programme was not expected to affect its workforce strategy or customer engagements.
The company stated that its applications under the US Permanent Labour Certification programme had been in single digits over the past two years and reiterated its plan to hire an additional 15,000 people in the US over the next five years. Investors are actively assessing these results alongside the potential implications of the US government's actions against several major technology companies.
Broader market indices traded largely higher in early deals. The Nifty 100 and Nifty 200 rose 0.52% each, while the Nifty 500 gained 0.42%. The Nifty Midcap 50 advanced 0.46%, and the Nifty Midcap 100 rose 0.54%. Conversely, the Nifty Smallcap 100 slipped 0.35%, indicating that the recovery was not uniform across all market segments, while India VIX fell 3.43% to 14.75.
Among sectoral indices, Nifty FMCG gained 1.18%, and Nifty PSU Bank rose 1.13%. Other sectoral gainers included private banks, financial services, auto, realty, healthcare, and metal indexes, while pharma and oil and gas sectors traded in the red.
Despite the early recovery, elevated crude oil prices and foreign institutional investor selling remain important risks for the market. Brent crude was trading down 1.31% at $102.91 per barrel, and US West Texas Intermediate crude fell 1.14% to $90.45, offering some relief despite remaining at elevated levels.
Experts note that high crude prices and elevated US bond yields continue to weigh on Indian equities, shifting the near-term market structure towards a sell-on-rally approach. Foreign institutional investors have continued offloading equities, though ongoing market corrections could potentially create accumulation opportunities for patient, long-term investors.