MUMBAI – The Nifty recovered 99 points on Wednesday, but stopped short of 23,300 as banks and FMCG stocks offset fresh selling in technology shares.
The Nifty 50 closed at 23,217.60, up 0.43%, while the Sensex added 332.63 points, or 0.45%, to 74,336.45. Both indices had fallen to five-month lows on Tuesday.
The recovery was stronger in the morning. The Sensex climbed more than 500 points and the Nifty touched 23,281, but neither index could hold those levels through the session.
Banking stocks supplied much of the day’s gain. Bank Nifty rose 0.89%, led by SBI at 2.42% and Kotak Mahindra Bank at 1.29%. ICICI Bank gained 0.52%, while IndusInd Bank moved 1.05% lower.
FMCG added another leg to the recovery, with the sector rising more than 1%. ITC gained 2.6%, while SBI Life and HDFC Life rose 2.8% and 2.7%, respectively. Realty and PSU banks also traded higher.
The broader market did not follow the benchmarks. Smallcaps fell 0.18%, while midcaps ended almost unchanged, showing that Wednesday’s rebound was concentrated in selected large stocks rather than spread across the market.
Technology shares reversed some of Tuesday’s strength. TCS, Infosys and Tech Mahindra declined, after IT stocks had led the previous day’s advance.
External pressures also remained elevated. Brent crude stayed around $108 a barrel, the US 10-year Treasury yield remained above 5%, and the rupee was near ₹95.96 per dollar ahead of the Federal Reserve’s policy decision.
Foreign flows continued to add pressure. FIIs sold ₹2,977.86 crore on Tuesday, while DIIs bought ₹2,686.05 crore. September FII selling had reached about ₹14,116 crore through Tuesday.
