Indian markets changed tracks and rebounded to the day's high despite weak global cues, and a sharp fall in the rupee. The Sensex jumped over 100 points, while the Nifty index traded above the crucial 5,150 mark, which is a strong support for markets.
At 3 p.m., the Sensex traded 107 points higher at 17,003, while the Nifty traded 37 points higher at 5,158. The rupee had pulled back from record lows, and traded at 56.34 against the dollar. European stocks also traded off the day's low.
Rate sensitive stocks like banks (1.8%) and realty (2.7%) rose sharply. Strong buying interest was also seen in capital goods (2.1%) and FMCG (0.9%) stocks.
Five stocks - ICICI Bank, ITC, L&T, State bank of India, and HDFC Bank - contributed over a 100 index points to the Sensex.
Reliance Industries (-2.7%) recovered from the day's low, though it remained at the bottom of the Nifty index. The stock has been under selling pressure after Canadian oil and gas producer Niko Resources cut its gas estimate for the KG D6 block in which Reliance is the major stake holder.
Cement stocks like Ambuja (-2.3%) and ACC (-1.7%) traded lower expecting punitive action by anti-monopoly watchdog for alleged cartelization.
Among other stocks, TCS (-2.1%), India's biggest software exporter, fell the most among frontline IT stocks. Cairn India (-1.9%), another oil explorer, was among the big laggards on falling crude prices, which affects the company's profitability.
Infra major Jaiprakash Associates (4.3%), India's biggest realty developer DLF (3.9%), and infra lender IDFC (3.4%) were the top three gainers on the Nifty. Reliance Infra and PNB also traded with over 3% gains.
The market breadth turned positive with nearly 75% stocks rising on the broader BSE 500 index.
European stocks traded lower after the Fed disappointed overnight, saying it was extending Operation Twist to keep long-term interest rates low. Asian stocks also ended with deep cuts.
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