Sensex, Nifty rally early after crude drop; blue‑chip buying lifts markets

New Delhi: Benchmark indices rebounded in early Wednesday trade, with the BSE Sensex rising 187.63 points to 76,388.31 and the NSE Nifty gaining 57.75 points to 23,878.85, as easing Brent crude prices and selective buying in blue‑chip stocks eased recent selling pressure

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Sensex winners early on included Tech Mahindra, ICICI Bank, Trent, Infosys, TCS and Kotak Mahindra Bank, while Maruti, Bharti Airtel, NTPC and Tata Steel underperformed. Foreign Institutional Investors were net buyers, purchasing equities worth Rs 17.86 crore on Tuesday, exchange data showed.

Brent crude, the global benchmark, slipped 1.02% to USD 76.29 per barrel, a move analysts said removed a key macro headwind for Indian markets. "The crash in Brent crude to below USD 77 has removed the macro headwinds for India. Rupee has stabilised. FII selling appears to have tapered off. This is positive for the market," said VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments.

Global cues were mixed: South Korea's Kospi and Hong Kong's Hang Seng traded higher, while Japan's Nikkei 225 and Shanghai's SSE Composite were lower. US equities had closed sharply lower on Tuesday, with the Nasdaq tumbling 2.21% and the S&P 500 down 1.44%.

The recovery comes after a sharp correction on Tuesday, when the Sensex plunged 893.39 points (1.16%) to 76,200.68 and the Nifty fell 278.80 points (1.16%) to 23,824.10.

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Separately, a senior US official said the United States and India are "very, very close" to finalising a landmark bilateral trade deal, which could further shape investor sentiment by opening the Indian market to American goods on reciprocal terms.

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