By Vivek Kumar M and Bharath Rajeswaran
(Reuters) -Indian benchmarks rose the most in a month on Wednesday, powered by IT and metal stocks, a day after the Nifty 50 posted its longest losing streak on record amid escalating global trade tensions.
The Nifty 50 rose 1.15% to 22,337.30 while the Sensex climbed 1.01% to close at 73,730.23. Both the indexes logged their biggest daily percentage gain since February 4.
The domestic equities mirrored the sentiment in wider Asia, where MSCI Asia ex-Japan added around 2%, on hopes of a partial roll-back of U.S. tariffs on Canada and Mexico. [MKTS/GLOB]
“Expectations of likely negotiations on tariffs aided the sentiment in markets. But this rally is unlikely to sustain due to U.S. tariff uncertainty and markets will remain volatile in the near term,” said Sanjeev Hota, vice president and head of research of wealth management at Mirae Asset Sharekhan.
Trump said on Tuesday that further tariffs would follow on April 2, including “reciprocal tariffs” and non-tariff actions aimed at balancing out years of trade imbalances.
The recent correction provided investors a buying opportunity and supported the markets on the day, analysts said.
All the 13 sub-sectors ended with gains on the day. The broader midcap and smallcap indexes rose 2.4% and 3%, respectively.
Coforge jumped 8.3%, leading the IT index 2.1% higher, after the software company signed a 13-year deal, valued at $1.56 billion, with U.S. travel technology provider Sabre Corp.
Persistent Systems and Infosys rose 4.6% and 1.4%, respectively, after JP Morgan placed them in its high-conviction ideas, anticipating strong growth.
Metal stocks rose 4% to lead sectoral gains after top consumer China announced more stimulus measures, promising greater efforts to support consumption and cushion the impact of an escalating trade war with the United States. [MET/L]
Mahindra & Mahindra advanced 4.3% and led gains among auto stocks, after UBS upgraded it to “buy” on strong SUV demand, EV launches, despite industry slowdown concerns.
(Reporting by Vivek Kumar M and Bharath Rajeswaran in Bengaluru; Editing by Sumana Nandy, Janane Venkatraman and Eileen Soreng)
