Bulls fight back at close; CAS lifts Nifty above 24,400, Sensex recovers over 450 points but ends lower

Indian benchmark indices staged a sharp recovery from their intraday lows on Wednesday, clawing back a significant portion of steep morning losses, although both Sensex and Nifty eventually ended in the red.

The Sensex declined 187.90 points, or 0.24%, to settle at 77,966.35, while the Nifty 50 fell 35.75 points, or 0.15%, to 24,435.95.

The session began on a relatively steady note, with the Nifty opening at 24,472.45, against Tuesday's close of 24,471.70. The Sensex opened at 78,263.33, above its previous close of 78,154.25. However, the early stability quickly gave way to selling pressure.

Nifty recovers 170 points from day's low

The Nifty slid to an intraday low of 24,265.95, falling more than 200 points from its opening level, before recovering through the second half of the session.

A major chunk of the recovery came during the Closing Auction Session (CAS) rather than regular market trading. The Nifty was trading around 24,360 levels just before the closing auction, down roughly 0.45%, before the CAS pushed it up to 24,435.95, helping it reclaim the 24,400 mark. Similarly, the Sensex was down around 0.34% before the auction before closing at 77,966.35, limiting its final loss to 0.24%.

The sharp turnaround meant the headline losses at the close were considerably smaller than the declines seen during the day.

IT, Tata stocks drag market

The recovery came despite continued pressure in IT and several Tata Group stocks. The Nifty IT index fell 1.54%, with TCS among the biggest drags on the benchmark.

Tata Group stocks remained under pressure after N Chandrasekaran resigned as Tata Sons chairman, with TCS, Tata Motors, Tata Steel, Titan and Tata Consumer among the stocks affected. Reuters reported that the five companies together lost around $4.6 billion in market value during the session.

Rising crude oil prices also remained a key concern for investors, with oil trading near $89 a barrel amid heightened geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.

Banks, metals provide support

The recovery was aided by strength in banking and metal stocks. The Nifty PSU Bank index gained 2.05%, while Nifty Bank rose 0.77% and Nifty Metal advanced 0.54%.

Among individual Nifty stocks, Hindalco gained 2.80%, followed by Bharti Airtel at 1.56% and SBI at 1.50%.

Meanwhile, the broader market held up better than the headline indices, with mid-cap stocks gaining around 0.3%.

In the currency market, the rupee strengthened 2 paise to ₹95.34 (provisional) against the US dollar.