Nifty reclaims 22,700 as two-day rebound gathers pace; Trent jumps 12.6%

Indian benchmark indices extended their recovery for the second straight session on Tuesday, with the Nifty rising 0.72% and the Sensex gaining 0.69%, as buying returned to banks, consumer and pharma stocks.

The Nifty 50 closed at 22,717.70, gaining 161.95 points, while the Sensex ended at 72,880.06, up 497.59 points. The indices had gained 0.60% and 0.66%, respectively, on Monday after ending an eight-week losing streak last week.

The recovery was also visible in the broader market. The Nifty Midcap Select index rose 1.29%, while the Nifty Financial Services index gained 1.17%. The Nifty 100 and Nifty 200 advanced around 1% each.

Trent leads gainers

Among Nifty stocks, Trent was the biggest gainer, rising 12.64% after the Tata Group retailer reported a 23% year-on-year rise in standalone revenue to ₹5,788 crore for the September quarter in its business update. The stock closed at ₹2,906.

Kotak Mahindra Bank gained 3.82%, while BSE rose 3.94%. Nestle India and Hindustan Unilever added 3.42% and 3.09%, respectively. Reliance Industries gained 2.66%, while Axis Bank, Jio Financial Services and HDFC Life also ended higher.

The buying in banking stocks came ahead of the Reserve Bank of India's monetary policy decision on Wednesday. Kotak Mahindra Bank was among the strongest large-cap gainers after its September-quarter business update showed growth in advances and deposits.

IT stocks buck the trend

The IT sector, however, remained under pressure despite the broader market recovery. The Nifty IT index fell around 0.6%, with Tech Mahindra down 2.04%, TCS falling 0.68% and Infosys declining 0.65%.

Coal India was the biggest Nifty loser, falling 3.16%, followed by Tech Mahindra and Max Healthcare.

The decline in IT came a day before the RBI policy and ahead of the start of the September-quarter earnings season. TCS is scheduled to announce its results on Thursday, making the IT sector one of the key areas to watch later this week.

The market's rebound comes after a sharp sell-off through September. The Nifty has now recovered from its October 1 close of 22,421.95 to 22,717.70, while the Sensex has moved up from 71,909.70 to 72,880.06 over the same period.

Investors will now turn their attention to the RBI's policy decision on Wednesday, with the market widely expecting a 25-basis-point rate hike.