Sensex, Nifty Trade Higher As Tech Stocks Bounce Back, Crude Falls Below $77

Indian benchmark indices opened on a cautious but positive note on Wednesday, recovering part of the previous session's losses as technology stocks rebounded and lower crude oil prices improved sentiment.

At around 9:40 am, the BSE Sensex was up 238.57 points, or 0.31%, at 76,439.25, while the NSE Nifty 50 advanced 46.20 points, or 0.19%, to 23,870.30.

The recovery follows Tuesday's sharp selloff, when the Sensex plunged 893 points and the Nifty fell 279 points after a global technology rout triggered by a 10% crash in South Korea's Kospi index.

IT Stocks Lead Recovery

Technology shares, which bore the brunt of Tuesday's decline, emerged among the top gainers in early trade.

Tech Mahindra rose 2.7%, while Infosys gained 1.5% and TCS added 0.7%, helping the Nifty IT index climb more than 1%.

The rebound came after South Korea's Kospi recovered nearly 3% on Wednesday following the previous session's steep correction in semiconductor stocks. Investors appeared to return to select technology names after Tuesday's panic selling.

Among the top gainers on the Nifty were Dr Reddy's Laboratories, Tech Mahindra, ICICI Bank, Infosys and Adani Enterprises. On the downside, Bajaj Auto, Hindalco, Bharti Airtel, HCL Technologies and Grasim Industries traded lower.

Lower Crude Offers Support

A key support for Indian equities came from crude oil prices, which extended their decline.

Brent crude futures fell about 1% and traded below $77 per barrel, hovering near four-month lows as more oil tankers stranded in the Gulf began moving through the Strait of Hormuz amid easing geopolitical tensions.

Lower crude prices are particularly positive for India as they help reduce inflationary pressures, improve the current account balance and support the rupee.

Sectorally, banking and financial stocks led gains. The Nifty Private Bank index rose 0.7%, while Nifty Bank, Financial Services, Pharma, Healthcare and Realty indices gained between 0.4% and 0.7%.

Broader markets were relatively muted, with the Nifty Midcap 100 rising 0.1% and the Nifty Smallcap 100 slipping 0.1%.

Global Markets Remain Volatile

Asian markets traded mixed after Tuesday's global selloff in semiconductor and technology shares.

Japan's Nikkei fell 0.4%, China's Shanghai Composite declined 0.25%, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng slipped marginally. South Korea's Kospi, however, rebounded 3% after suffering its steepest decline in months a day earlier.

Overnight, US markets closed lower, with the Nasdaq Composite falling 2.2% as investors continued to reassess valuations in artificial intelligence and semiconductor stocks amid concerns over future interest rates.

Monsoon Emerges As New Concern

VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments, said global markets were rattled by the semiconductor selloff but noted that India remained relatively resilient compared with other major markets.

He said excessive volatility is likely to persist in semiconductor-heavy markets such as South Korea and Taiwan, where concentration risks remain elevated despite strong earnings prospects.

According to Vijayakumar, the sharp correction in Brent crude below $77, stability in the rupee and tapering foreign institutional investor selling are positive factors for Indian equities.

However, he identified the weak southwest monsoon as the emerging risk for the domestic market.

"The new concern is the poor monsoon which is deficient by 43% so far. There are concerns that this might impact India's growth and corporate profits too, marginally," he said.

He added that sectors dependent on rural demand, including FMCG and entry-level two-wheelers, could face pressure if rainfall remains weak, while pharmaceutical companies may prove relatively resilient due to the inelastic nature of demand.

For now, investors remain focused on balancing supportive domestic macroeconomic trends against lingering global volatility and weather-related risks.