Equities rebounded strongly after a three-day slide with rate sensitive stocks spearheading the rally today as softening core inflation data fuelled hopes of interest rate cut by RBI next week, helping the NSE benchmark CNX Nifty to surge 58 points and close above 5,900-mark.
Aggressive buying in recently beaten down financial stocks led the rally with sectoral indices jumping by a hefty 243 points. Elsewhere, energy, FMCG, technology and metal stocks, too, witnessed heavy buying.
Though the much-awaited Wholesale Price Index (WPI) showed a marginal uptick in February at 6.84 per cent from 6.62 per cent in January, the core inflation number, which fell below the 4 per cent mark for the first time in three years, revived hopes of rate cut by RBI at its March 19 meet.
After plunging to the day's low in a knee-jerk reaction to higher-than-expected headline inflation data, with Nifty slipping below the 5,800-level, the market rebounded dramatically in afternoon following heavy buying from funds and retailers along with short-covering.
Though the market is sensing a 25 basis point cut, there are hopes the apex bank may take a more aggressive stance by acknowledging the credibility of the fiscal consolidation plan taken up in the Union budget, traders said.
The 50-share Nifty swung between a high of 5,920.15 and a low of 5,791.75 before ending at 5,908.95, a handsome gain of 57.75 points, or 0.99 per cent, from the last close.
Among the key Nifty gainers, Maruti jumped 3.35 per cent, SBIN 3.47 per cent, Ranbaxy 3.33 per cent, Tata Power 3.16 per cent, BPCL, 2.68 per cent, HDFC Bank 2.61 per cent, Asian Paint 2.28 per cent, ICICI Bank 2.15 per cent, HUL 2.07 per cent and Reliance Infra rose 2.01 per cent.
The notable losers included Bajaj Auto, Gail, Bharti Airtel, Sun Pharma, Hero MotoCorp, Coal India, Cairn India, Wipro, ITC and PowerGrid.
Turnover in the cash segment spiked to Rs 11,866.83 crore from Rs 9,228.56 crore yesterday. A total of 6,440.29 lakh shares changed hands in 60,14,085 trades. Total market capitalisation stood at Rs 65,42,736 crore.
