Sensex Jumps Over 1,100 Points as Finance Minister’s Tax Comments Lift Indian Markets
MUMBAI — Indian stock markets rebounded sharply Tuesday, with the benchmark Sensex gaining more than 1,100 points as investors welcomed Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s willingness to discuss changes to key market-related taxes.
The Sensex surged 1,109.10 points, or 1.54%, to close at 73,033.78, while the Nifty 50 advanced 358.60 points, or 1.6%, to settle at 22,721.95.
The rally erased losses from the previous session and reflected renewed investor optimism following Sitharaman’s comments on long-term capital gains (LTCG) tax and securities transaction tax (STT).
The finance minister said she was interested in hearing market participants’ views on the two taxes and described discussions surrounding them as healthy.
Her remarks encouraged buying across several sectors, although she did not announce any specific tax changes.
Technology stocks led the recovery, with HCL Technologies and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) among the top gainers on the Nifty index. Shriram Finance also recorded strong gains.
Market analysts said the Nifty staged a sustained recovery throughout the trading session, moving decisively above the 22,600 resistance level and crossing 22,700.
“On the upside, 22,800 remains a crucial resistance level that the index must decisively breach and sustain above to extend the recovery toward the psychologically important 23,000 mark,” market analysts said.
They identified 22,600 as an important near-term support level, with additional support around 22,300.
“On the downside, 22,600 has now emerged as an important support zone, while 22,300 remains a key lower support level. Holding above 22,600 will be essential to sustain the recovery momentum,” analysts added.
The gains extended to smaller companies, although broader market indices trailed the major benchmarks.
The Nifty MidCap index rose 1.06%, while the Nifty SmallCap index posted a modest gain of 0.11%.
Among sectoral indices, Nifty IT recorded the strongest performance as investors increased their exposure to technology stocks.
Real estate and consumer durable stocks also advanced, with Nifty Realty and Nifty Consumer Durables closing higher.
Pharmaceutical stocks bucked the broader upward trend, with Nifty Pharma emerging as the session’s weakest-performing sector and finishing in negative territory.
Analysts said the rally in technology shares, combined with expectations of relatively stable second-quarter corporate earnings, helped reinforce confidence in the market despite continuing global economic uncertainty.
“The strong IT-led start and expectations of a decent overall Q2 corporate performance suggest the market is pricing in resilience despite a challenging external environment,” analysts said.
Investors will now be watching whether the Nifty can sustain its recovery above key technical levels as corporate earnings announcements and developments surrounding market taxation influence trading sentiment. (Source: IANS)
