U-turn on Dalal Street: Sensex soars over 2,000 pts from intraday lows, defying early losses, on expiry day; bank, telecom lead gains

IT stocks also extended their rally, with the Nifty IT index climbing for the fifth straight session to a fresh high of 46,088.90, bolstered by gains in HCLTech, Infosys, and TCS.

Trade

• Watchlist
• Portfolio
• Message
• Set Alert

 

 

Choose Stock Exchange: BSE LIVE NSE LIVE

26 Aug, 2025 12:21

Volume

Todays L/H

More

×

The Sensex and Nifty staged a remarkable comeback in the second half of the trading session on December 13, posting a strong recovery from over 1 percent losses in the early hours. The Sensex skyrocketed over 2,100 points from its intraday low of 80,083 to touch a high of 82,214, while the Nifty 50 soared more than 600 points from 24,181 to an intraday peak of 24,792 in a dramatic turnaround. Analysts pointed to the weekly expiry of Sensex derivatives contracts as a key driver of the heightened volatility.

Gains across financial services, telecom, IT, FMCG, oil & gas, and auto stocks fueled the recovery in the Indian benchmarks. By the session's end, the Sensex was up 843 points, or 1 percent, at 82,133, while the Nifty added 219 points, or 0.9 percent, to close at 24,768. About 1,741 shares advanced, 2,086 shares declined, and 114 shares remained unchanged.

This week, the Nifty 50 rose 0.4 percent and the Sensex gained 0.5 percent, marking their fifth consecutive week of gains — the longest weekly winning streak since July.

"For Sensex, the 80,000 level was as critical support and the index touched a low of around 80,000 before rebounding sharply," said Mehul Kothari, Assistant Vice-President of Technical Research at Anand Rathi Share And Stock Brokers. "The fall disrupted put writers significantly, and during the recovery, call writers faced heavy losses due to short covering on the upside," he said.

Follow our live blog for all the market action

The morning session slump mirrored losses across Asian markets, which posted steep losses due to a combination of factors, including a stronger dollar, rising U.S. Treasury yields, and disappointment in the Chinese economy.

"The Sensex and Nifty fully recovered today after the steep intraday fall, reflecting broad-based volatility across the market," said Vishnu Kant Upadhyay, AVP of Research and Advisory at Master Capital Services.

"The Indian rupee touched an all-time low against the US dollar on Thursday (December 12), driven by persistent foreign investor-led sell-offs in equities and a rise in onshore forward premiums, contributing to significant downward pressure on the currency," Upadhyay explained. "The trend aligns with global factors such as the strength of the US dollar, supported by robust U.S. economic data and recent election outcomes."

Concerns around Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) selling resumed after they sold Indian equities worth Rs 4,572 crore over December 11 and 12.

While India's Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation eased to 5.48 percent in November from 6.21 percent in October, concerns linger over elevated food prices, potentially delaying interest rate cuts by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

Narendra Solanki, Head of Fundamental Research-Investment Services at Anand Rathi Share and Stock Brokers said that although inflation has slowed, it remains above the RBI's 5 percent target. "This may have led to expectations of shallow rate cuts, although one more month of data is still needed for the RBI to make a decision."

All the above-mentioned factors combined to drive heightened market volatility, resulting in sudden fluctuations.

Also Read | Lower CPI inflation pushes rupee up, bond yields flat in afternoon trade

Sector-wise, financial services led the gains in Nifty, with Nifty Bank and Nifty Private Bank rising 0.8 percent, driven by ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, and Kotak Mahindra.

Telecom provided much-needed support, led by Bharti Airtel's 4 percent surge after Jefferies included the company in its top picks for Asia in 2025, citing sustained earnings momentum due to tariff hikes.

IT stocks also extended their rally, with the Nifty IT index climbing for the fifth straight session to a fresh high of 46,088.90, bolstered by gains in HCLTech, Infosys, and TCS.

Rakesh Vyas, Co-Chief Investment Officer and Portfolio Manager at Quest Investment Advisors anticipates increased FII allocation to IT services, as the depreciation of the INR against the USD is likely to boost margins for IT companies starting in CY25.

Meanwhile, the Nifty Metal index, while off its lows, was down 0.7 percent amid concerns tied to the U.S. dollar's strength and China's uncertain stimulus measures. Shares of Tata Steel, Vedanta, and NMDC were the ones dragging the index lower.

Also Read | Rate cut conundrum: Cooling India inflation meets firm US inflation, clouding investor hopes

In individual stocks, Vodafone Idea's share price rose nearly 2 percent after the company announced a robust capital expenditure plan of Rs 50,000-55,000 crore over the next three years, aimed at bolstering its 4G and 5G network capacity and coverage.

Astra Microwave Products shares surged over 2 percent after its JV, Astra Rafael, secured a Rs 256 crore project from the Defence Ministry for 93 additional Software Defined Radios (SDR) LRUs with A kits, SBC 2 cards, and Network Centric Operations applications for Su-30 MKI fighter aircraft.

The broader market lagged behind the benchmark indices, with the BSE Midcap ending flat and the BSE Smallcap slipping 0.3 percent.

"For December and January, the Nifty is projected to inch toward 25,500–26,000 levels. A pre-budget rally is likely to drive stock-specific moves in early January," Kunal Rambhia, Fund Manager and Trading Strategist at The Streets told Moneycontrol. "A sideways movement with a positive bias is expected over the next 15 days, followed by a pre-budget rally leading to a possible new market high."

On the Nifty 50 index today, Bharti Airtel, Kotak Mahindra, ITC, HUL, UltraTech led the gains, rising between 2-4 percent. On the other hand, Shriram Finance, Tata Steel, IndusInd Bank, Hindalco, and JSW Steel were the top losers, slipping 1-3 percent.

Disclaimer: The views and investment tips expressed by investment experts on Moneycontrol.com are their own and not those of the website or its management. Moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.