Markets Rebound in Early Trade as Banking Stocks Lead Gains

Pratiksha Ghosh 

Mumbai, May 21, 2025: Indian equity markets staged a recovery in early trading on Wednesday, rebounding from sharp losses in the previous session. The uptick was driven by renewed buying interest in heavyweight banking stocks and positive cues from key Asian markets.

The BSE Sensex surged 267.68 points to reach 81,454.12 in early deals, while the NSE Nifty advanced 82.25 points, climbing to 24,766.15.

Leading the gains on the Sensex were blue-chip companies such as Nestle, HDFC Bank, Hindustan Unilever, Maruti Suzuki, UltraTech Cement, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, Tata Consultancy Services, Tata Motors, and State Bank of India.

On the other hand, stocks including Eicher Motors, IndusInd Bank, Adani Ports, and Kotak Mahindra Bank lagged behind.

Across Asia, indices such as South Korea’s Kospi, China’s Shanghai Composite, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng traded in the green, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 edged lower. Meanwhile, U.S. markets closed in the red on Tuesday.

In the commodities market, Brent crude prices rose 1.48% to USD 66.34 per barrel.

Despite Wednesday’s early recovery, investor sentiment remains cautious after heavy foreign institutional investor (FII) selling. On Tuesday alone, FIIs offloaded equities worth Rs 10,016.10 crore, as per exchange data.

The previous session had seen a sharp decline, with the Sensex dropping 872.98 points to settle at 81,186.44 and the Nifty ending 261.55 points lower at 24,683.90.