Nifty and Sensex rebound as banks lead buying

The bounce was selective rather than broad-based. Axis Bank led gainers with a 2.82% rise, while Mahindra & Mahindra climbed 2.24% and Asian Paints gained 1.93%. Bajaj Finance, HCL Tech and Titan also advanced. Trent fell 1.41%, and Infosys, Kotak Mahindra Bank, ICICI Bank and Tata Steel were among the laggards, underscoring that investors were rotating into beaten-down value names rather than chasing a full-market rebound.

That distinction matters for the near-term market outlook. Value buying after a recent decline can stabilise indices, but it usually does not mark a durable uptrend unless foreign flows turn and macro pressure eases. On Thursday, foreign institutional investors sold equities worth ₹5,027.36 crore, while the previous session saw the Sensex drop 1,247.71 points and the Nifty lose 383.70 points. Friday’s gain therefore looked more like a technical reset than a change in trend.

Crude oil was a modest tailwind, with Brent down 1.10% to $105.4 a barrel, easing pressure on import-dependent sectors and sentiment around inflation. Still, traders remained wary of elevated global yields, which can keep pressure on emerging-market equities by tightening financial conditions and making risk assets less attractive relative to bonds. Mixed overseas cues also limited enthusiasm: Asian markets were uneven, Europe traded higher and Wall Street finished mostly lower.

Analysts said the market’s ability to stay above the psychologically important 23,000 mark on the Nifty reflected domestic liquidity and willingness to buy quality names on dips. Chart-wise, the Nifty and Sensex remain below their 50-day and 200-day moving averages, while relative strength readings still point to a market that is oversold rather than fully repaired. That leaves room for further rebound attempts, but also leaves the indices vulnerable if foreign selling and crude volatility persist.

For investors, the message is that India’s market is still being supported by domestic demand, but the leadership is narrow and the macro backdrop remains mixed. A sustained recovery will likely require a cooling in global yields, steadier crude prices and evidence that overseas outflows are slowing. Until then, rallies may continue to be driven by selective bargain buying rather than a decisive risk-on shift.