Nifty IT Leads Post-Dussehra Rebound as Sensex Adds 570 Points, With Brent at $110

Indian equities came back from Tuesday's Dussehra holiday in a buying mood. Within minutes of the open on Wednesday, the BSE Sensex was up 570.89 points, or 0.77%, at 74,423.79, and the NSE Nifty 50 had climbed 167.35 points to 23,055.70, back above the 23,000 mark it lost in Monday's sharp sell-off.

The bounce matters because of what came before it. On Monday the Sensex shed 876 points to close at 73,852.90 and the Nifty fell 257 points to 22,888.95, dragged down by private banks and worries about oil. Wednesday's open recovered roughly two-thirds of that loss almost immediately, and by 9:20 am all 16 major sectoral indices were in the green.

A Trade Deal Headline Did the Heavy Lifting

The trigger was Washington. Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, US President Donald Trump said the two countries were close to a trade agreement, adding that it would look different from deals the US has struck before. He gave no timeline or detail. His comments came as Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is visiting India, said only a handful of issues remained open.

Neither official announced a signing date, so the market is trading on tone rather than terms. Still, for sectors that earn heavily in dollars or depend on US tariff treatment, even a softer tone is enough to pull money back in after a bruising session.

IT, Not Banks, Took the Lead

Information technology was the standout. The Nifty IT index rose 2.03% in early deals, with Infosys up 2.47% and TCS up 2.08%, both among the top Nifty gainers. UltraTech Cement also added close to 2% after its September-quarter numbers. PSU banks rose 0.74% and metals 0.70%. Nifty Media was the only major sectoral index in the red, down a marginal 0.15%.

On the losing side, Bajaj Finance fell 2.32%, making it the weakest Nifty stock in the opening hour, while Bajaj Finserv slipped about half a percent.

The IT leadership is notable. Large-cap technology names have lagged the market for much of the year, but several reported better-than-feared September-quarter results. Some strategists now argue domestic institutions could use dips to add to these underweighted stocks.

The Oil Problem Has Not Gone Away

The rally comes with a clear caveat. Brent crude was trading at about $110.34 a barrel, up 1.43%, as tanker attacks in and around the Strait of Hormuz kept energy markets on edge. For India, which imports most of its crude, oil at these levels feeds directly into the import bill, inflation and the currency. The rupee opened at 94.78 against the US dollar, a little firmer than Monday's 94.93, but still near historic lows.

US bond yields are a second pressure point. Geojit Investments' chief investment strategist V K Vijayakumar said elevated crude and yields could keep a sell-on-rally pattern alive in the near term, even as earnings growth, reasonable large-cap valuations and steady domestic flows offer support on declines.

Levels and What to Watch

Technical analysts see the 23,000 to 23,100 band as immediate resistance for the Nifty, with support around 22,800 to 22,700. A close above the upper end of that range would suggest Monday's fall was a one-off rather than the start of a deeper correction.

Beyond the trade talks, traders will be tracking Jio Platforms' record IPO, which opens for subscription today, along with crude prices and the next batch of quarterly results. Investors watching commodity moves can also check today's gold rate, which tends to react to the same oil and dollar swings.

This is an original summary based on public reporting. See our editorial policy for how we source, write, and correct our stories.