Mumbai, March 27 – The domestic equity market rebounded on Thursday, with the BSE Sensex closing 318 points higher, supported by sustained buying from foreign institutional investors (FIIs) and gains in heavyweight stocks such as Reliance Industries, Larsen & Toubro, and Bajaj Finance.
Despite the upward momentum, gains were limited due to selling pressure in automobile stocks and a weak trend in pharmaceutical shares amid global uncertainties following U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent announcement on auto import tariffs.
The 30-share BSE Sensex ended the day at 77,606.43, up by 317.93 points or 0.41 percent. During intraday trading, the index had risen as much as 458.96 points. Similarly, the NSE Nifty advanced by 105.10 points or 0.45 percent to settle at 23,591.95.
Key gainers on the Sensex included Bajaj Finserv, IndusInd Bank, NTPC, L&T, UltraTech Cement, Adani Ports, Bajaj Finance, Power Grid, Zomato, SBI, HDFC Bank, and Titan. However, Tata Motors declined by over 5.5 percent following the U.S. administration's decision to impose a 25 percent import duty on foreign cars, which dampened investor sentiment in auto stocks.
Other laggards included Sun Pharma, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Bharti Airtel, HCL Technologies, and Mahindra & Mahindra.
As per agency report, Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services, stated that the market witnessed a steady recovery due to persistent FII inflows and selective buying in blue-chip stocks. However, the announcement of tariffs on imported vehicles added pressure to auto stocks and created concerns in the pharmaceutical sector.
Despite these headwinds, the broader market remained resilient, buoyed by expectations of double-digit earnings growth in the upcoming financial year 2025-26.
Market data showed that FIIs purchased shares worth Rs 2,240.55 crore on Wednesday. The broader indices also performed well, with the BSE SmallCap index climbing 0.90 percent and the MidCap index gaining 0.46 percent.
Among global markets, China’s Shanghai Composite and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng closed with gains, while South Korea’s Kospi and Japan’s Nikkei ended in the red. European markets showed a downward trend during mid-session trading, and U.S. markets had also closed lower on Wednesday.
Ajit Mishra, Senior Vice President – Research at Religare Broking, noted that the shift in FII sentiment, strength in banking and financial majors, and rotational buying in large-cap stocks supported the positive outlook. However, uncertainty around U.S. tariff developments remains a source of volatility.
Meanwhile, Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, fell 0.23 percent to $73.62 per barrel.
The rebound comes after a sharp fall on Wednesday, when the Sensex had dropped by 728.69 points and the Nifty by 181.80 points.
