Markets fall in early trade; bounce back later

From the Sensex pack, Bajaj Finance, NTPC, Asian Paints, Tata Steel, HDFC, HDFC Bank, Reliance Industries and Power Grid were the major laggards.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Equity benchmarks fell in initial trade on February 2 but later bounced back to trade in the positive territory, amid firm global market trends and foreign fund inflows.

The 30-share BSE benchmark Sensex had fallen 492.46 points to 59,215.62 in early trade. The broader NSE Nifty declined 170.35 points to 17,445.95 in initial trade.

However, later both the benchmarks were quoting in the green. The Sensex traded 177.91 points higher at 59,885.99, while the Nifty quoted 25.50 points up at 17,605.95.

From the Sensex pack, Bajaj Finance, NTPC, Asian Paints, Tata Steel, HDFC, HDFC Bank, Reliance Industries and Power Grid were the major laggards.

ITC, UltraTech Cement, IndusInd Bank, Titan and Maruti were among the winners.

Elsewhere in Asia, equity markets in Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong were trading in the green.

Markets in the U.S. had ended in the positive territory on Wednesday.

Adani Enterprises on Wednesday said it has decided not to go ahead with its ₹20,000-crore Follow-on Public Offer (FPO) and will return the proceeds to investors.

The announcement came a day after the company’s FPO was subscribed fully on the last day of the offer on Tuesday.

Adani Enterprises tumbled 15% in early deals.

“Meanwhile, the situation in the mother market of the U.S. is slowly improving. The expected reduction in rate hike by 25 basis points and the slightly less hawkish commentary are positive for global equity markets,” said V.K. Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services.

The excessive volatility triggered by the crash in Adani stocks will die down after sometime, Mr. Vijayakumar added.

The Sensex had climbed 158.18 points or 0.27% to settle at 59,708.08 on Wednesday. In contrast, the Nifty declined 45.85 points or 0.26% to end at 17,616.30.

International oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.74% to $83.45 per barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) turned buyers as they bought shares worth ₹1,785.21 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data.