Indian equity benchmarks end higher, led by financials, metals

MUMBAI: Indian equity benchmarks closed higher on Tuesday, as gains in financials and metals helped recoup some losses from the previous session when the blue-chip indexes plunged to seven-month lows.

The Nifty 50 rose 0.39% to 23,176.05 points, while the BSE Sensex added 0.22% to 76,499.63. Both the indexes lost about 1.4% in the previous session as a global market turmoil following upbeat US jobs data pushed the rupee to its worst session in two years.

The Indian currency weakened to another all-time low on Tuesday. Concerns over India’s economic growth and corporate earnings have hit the markets with foreign investors pulling out $2.75 billion from Indian stocks so far in January. The benchmark Nifty has plunged 2% in January and is nearly 12% below a record high hit on Sept. 27, 2024.

“While a strong dollar, elevated US bond yields, slowing domestic growth and moderation in earnings have prompted risk-off sentiment, further downside from current levels looks limited after the recent drop,” said Manish Chowdhury, head of research at StoxBox.

On the day, the broader, more domestically focussed smallcaps and midcaps rose about 2% and 2.5%, respectively, following a 4% drop on Monday. Eleven of the 13 major sectors advanced, with high-weightage financials gaining 1.4%, after a 4.4% slump over the last four sessions.