Markets bounce back after historic plunge on Monday

Bears hit the brakes on Dalal Street after a trading holiday on Tuesday. Rebounding from the historic 1,942 points plunge on Monday, the S&P BSE Sensex ended the trading session 62 points higher at 35,682.24 points on Wednesday.

The markets opened in the red and remained volatile, but the benchmark indices showed resilience. Index heavyweights Reliance Industries, ICICI Bank, and HDFC helped the bulls to make a comeback and supported the equity markets to trade in the green.

During trading hours the S&P Sensex shot up by over 300 points before some profit booking took over. Embattled private sector lender Yes Bank rose 30% to ₹28.75 per share after reports of a speedy resolution this week.

Reliance Industries shares clawed back gains after it hit a 52- week of ₹1,094 on Monday after Russia and Saudi Arabia signalled a price war that led to a crash in crude oil prices. At Wednesday's high of ₹1,178.4, RIL recovered in excess of 7.6% from its 52-week low.

The broader market showed signs of weakness, with S&P BSE MidCap index trading over 0.51% lower, while the S&P SmallCap index was down over 0.20% during trade.

The bloodbath on Dalal Street on Monday wiped off over ₹7 lakh crore of investors' wealth. The recovery in the U.S. and Asian stock markets, coupled with a rise in oil prices helped allay investor fears to some extent. However, market watchers say the rising cases of coronavirus in India will further dent confidence.