Sensex claws back 800 points from day's low as IT stocks lead selective recovery

Indian equity markets staged a sharp intraday recovery on Monday, with Sensex rising nearly 800 points from the day's low after opening sharply lower, supported by value buying and a strong showing from IT stocks. Despite the rebound, indices closed in the red — Sensex ended down while Nifty 50 settled at 23,634.85, barely changed, down 0.04%.

How the session played out

Markets opened in the red after weak global cues, with Nifty touching an intraday low of 23,317.10 before buyers stepped in. From that point, the index recovered over 300 points to close near the day's high of 23,661.65. Sensex swung nearly 800 points from its intraday trough in what analysts described as a combination of value buying and technical support.

Why markets recovered

The recovery was powered primarily by Nifty IT, which gained 2.07% — the strongest sectoral mover of the day. Tech Mahindra led the charge with a 4.85% gain, followed by Infosys up 2.38%, Bharti Airtel up 1.66%, Sun Pharma up 1.37%, and Wipro up 1.31%. Value buying also emerged across beaten-down largecaps including ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Kotak Bank, HCL Tech, Sun Pharma and TCS, which all ended in positive territory.

Why the market is still under pressure

The partial recovery came on the back of a rough six-session run. Sensex and Nifty have cumulatively fallen 3.5% and 4% respectively in the last six sessions, leaving the index well below recent levels — Nifty stood at 23,815.85 a week ago. The drag today came from Power Grid (down 2.93%), Tata Steel (down 3.15%), SBI (down 2.53%), Trent (down 1.62%), and Bajaj Auto (down 1.83), reflecting continued pressure in PSUs, autos and metals. Sectorally, Nifty PSU Bank fell 1.92%, Consumer Durables 1.80%, and Auto 1.71%.

India VIX, the market's fear gauge, eased from the intraday high of 20.05 to 19.61, still 4.47% higher than previous, indicating that the uncertainty is only rising among investors. Analysts noted that immediate support for Nifty sits at the 23,300–23,400 zone, while resistance is seen near 23,900–24,000.

Brent Crude on Monday reached an intraday high of $112 per barrel after U.S. President Donald Trump issued a fresh warning, saying that "the clock is ticking" for Tehran, and unless they move fast, "there won't be anything left of them". Iran has announced the formation of a new authority tasked with overseeing affairs related to the Strait of Hormuz amid rising regional tensions.

"The prolonged stalemate between the US and Iran continues to cast a shadow over near-term sentiment, yet the equity market managed to recover intraday losses and closed on a flat note, supported by value buying in IT and banking stocks. The ongoing earnings season has provided a constructive narrative, but caution persists as higher bond yields, elevated crude oil prices, and a weakening rupee reinforce inflationary concerns," Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Limited, said.