Indian stocks rebound, led by IT sector

Indian equity markets rebounded on Tuesday, halting a three-day losing streak. The Nifty 50 index edged up 0.1 per cent to 24,173 points, while the Sensex gained 0.2 per cent to 79,627 points.

The IT sector emerged as a key driver, with the Nifty IT index advancing 0.5 per cent. This sector has seen increased buying interest after a period of foreign selling that has weighed on Indian equities.

“Selective buying in IT stocks is taking place after persistent foreign selling in Indian shares, which is supporting the markets amid lackluster second-quarter earnings,” said Ajit Mishra, senior vice president of research at Religare Broking.

The Nifty index has declined by around eight per cent from its record high in September, primarily due to disappointing corporate earnings and significant foreign portfolio investor outflows of nearly $14 billion.

Investors are eagerly awaiting the release of India’s October inflation data, which is expected to show a 14-month high of 5.81 per cent. The market will closely analyse this data for clues on the potential for a rate cut by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in December.

On the individual stock front, ONGC gained 1.2 per cent after reporting a higher quarterly profit, while Britannia Industries declined 3.6 per cent due to a miss in second-quarter profit estimates.

Attribution: Reuters

Subediting: M. S. Salama