Sensex, Nifty rebound as Reliance, ITC shares rally

Benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty rebounded on Wednesday, propelled by bargain hunting in index majors Reliance Industries, ITC and SBI amid a largely firm trend in global equities.

In a highly volatile trade, the 30-share BSE Sensex rebounded 89.64 points or 0.12 per cent to settle at 72,101.69.

During the day, it jumped 390.62 points or 0.54 per cent to 72,402.67.

The benchmark hit its day's low of 71,674.42, down 337.63 points or 0.46 per cent, earlier in the day.

The NSE Nifty climbed 21.65 points or 0.10 per cent to finish at 21,839.10.

"Lifted by favourable global sentiment and solid direct tax collection, Indian markets rebounded, closing with modest gains.

"Robust FII and DII inflows sustained the market," said Vinod Nair, head of research, Geojit Financial Services.

From the Sensex basket, Maruti, Nestle, Power Grid, State Bank of India, ITC, Reliance Industries, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Bajaj Finance, IndusInd Bank and Asian Paints were the major gainers.

In contrast, Tata Steel, Axis Bank, Tata Motors and HDFC Bank were among the laggards.

In Asian markets, Seoul, Shanghai, and Hong Kong settled in positive territory.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 1,421.48 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data.

The net direct tax collection grew 19.88 per cent to over Rs 18.90 lakh crore till March 17 on higher advance tax mop-up.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude declined 0.80 per cent to $86.68 a barrel.