Sensex, Nifty Rebound 657, 218 Points on Oil Price Dip

Indian benchmark stock indices Sensex and Nifty rebounded sharply in early trade on Wednesday, climbing over 600 points and 200 points respectively, as crude oil prices eased following signals of progress in US-Iran negotiations over the Strait of Hormuz.

The 30-share BSE Sensex surged 657 points to 77,675 in initial hours, while the NSE Nifty advanced 218 points to 24,251. By late morning, the Sensex stood at around 77,343, up 325 points or 0.42 percent from Tuesday's close of 77,018, and the Nifty traded at 24,142, up 109 points or 0.46 percent from 24,033. Gainers included InterGlobe Aviation, Mahindra and Mahindra, Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, Tech Mahindra and State Bank of India, with rises up to 2.5 percent. Laggards were Larsen and Toubro, Hindustan Unilever, NTPC and Power Grid, down as much as 3 percent.

The rally followed a 0.3 percent decline in both indices on Tuesday, when escalating tensions in the Strait of Hormuz, elevated oil prices and a record low rupee at 95.25 against the dollar weighed on sentiment. Brent crude, which had spiked above 113 dollars per barrel amid the blockade, fell 1.7 percent to 108 dollars, providing relief to oil-import dependent India.