Sensex, Nifty rebound tracking recovery in global peers; log weekly losses

A day after suffering their worst session in about two years, benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty rebounded up to 2.5% on Friday, in line with higher global markets as the U.S. and allies put up a united front to punish Russia with harsher sanctions over the Ukraine conflict.

A strengthening rupee and bargain hunting by participants supported the recovery, traders said.

Snapping its seven-day losing streak, the 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 1,328.61 points, or 2.44%, to settle at 55,858.52. Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty soared 410.45 points, or 2.53%, to 16,658.40.

Barring HUL and Nestle, all Sensex shares closed with gains with Tata Steel, IndusInd Bank, Bajaj Finance, NTPC and Tech Mahindra surging as much as 6.54%.

On Thursday, the Sensex had crashed over 2,700 points — its biggest single-day plunge in about two years; and the Nifty had nosedived 815 points.

"Domestic indices staged a firm recovery tracking positive cues from global markets and took advantage of lower valuations following the massive sell-off in the previous session.

"Global markets took a breather as the fresh U.S. sanctions did not target Russia's oil exports nor their access to the SWIFT global payment network. However, the market will continue to remain volatile tracking new developments in the Russia-Ukraine war," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.