See-saw trade: Sensex rebounds over 2,000 points from the day's low

Mkts end in green for 4th straight week, longest winning run since July

After a volatile session on Friday, the benchmark indices ended with gains of nearly 1 per cent, extending their winning streak to four weeks — the longest since July.

 

The Sensex, after plunging 1,207 points, managed to stage a robust recovery to end the session up 843 points, or 1.04 per cent, at 82,133. The Nifty 50 also posted a gain of 220 points, or 0.9 per cent, closing at 24,768.

 

This recovery was driven by strong performances from major stocks, especially Bharti Airtel, which was the top contributor to the Sensex’s gains.

 

Bharti Airtel’s shares surged 4.4 per cent after Jefferies selected it as one of its top picks for 2025, citing the company’s strong earnings growth driven by recent tariff hikes in the telecom sector.

 

 

The gains in Bharti Airtel were the largest since July 26, and the stock also had its best weekly performance since mid-September.

 

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) also played a role in the market's rebound, as their positive inflows supported investor sentiment. Despite the recovery, the market breadth remained weak, with more stocks declining (2,173) than advancing (1,818).

 

The Sensex rose 0.5 per cent over the week, while the Nifty gained 0.37 per cent. Market capitalisation for BSE-listed companies rose by Rs 1.3 trillion, reaching Rs 459.4 trillion.

 

“Telecom companies have been quietly hiking their tariffs. It's a large sector that recently took a 20 per cent tariff hike. This will show in their bottom line in a quarter or two,” said UR Bhat, co-founder of Alphaniti Fintech. 

 

ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank were the other major contributors to Sensex’s gains.

 

The easing of retail inflation in November has boosted expectations of a rate cut by the Reserve Bank of India in the next monetary policy meeting. 

 

The retail inflation eased to 5.48 per cent in November against 6.2 per cent in the previous month. In its last monetary policy meeting, the RBI had left the rates unchanged while it reduced the cash reserve ratio.

 

"A rebound from the lows suggests that the buy-on-dips strategy is working well in the market. With inflation coming within the RBI's tolerance level and an expectation of further ease in food prices on account of seasonal corrections in vegetable prices, it could build up the expectation for ease in monetary policy in February," said Vinod Nair, head of research of Geojit Financial Services.

 

FPIs on Friday were the net buyers worth Rs 2,335 crore, and domestic institutions sold shares worth Rs 732 crore.

 

Next year, Donald Trump's policies after he assumed the presidency, the geopolitical situation, and the December quarter results will influence the market movement in the near term.

 

"If global markets are extra good, we might get some extra push for the Santa Claus rally. December has always been quite good for India,” said Andrew Holland, CEO of Avendus Capital Alternate Strategies.

 

The Nifty has gained nearly 3 per cent so far this month, extending the rebound from November lows to 6.1 per cent.