Indian Shares Rebound On Short Covering

Indian shares rebounded on Thursday, largely due to short covering after recent steep losses.

Key benchmark indexes staged a sharp rebound after falling nearly 4 percent over the last four sessions.

Helping underpin sentiment, media reports suggested that Iran has reached out to the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to explore a backchannel ceasefire.

However, a source from the Iranian Intelligence Ministry dismissed the report as “a complete lie” and stated that Tehran is prepared to sustain the conflict.

Concerns about disruptions in global oil supply eased somewhat after U.S. President Donald Trump announced measures, including a U.S. naval escort for oil tankers travelling through the Strait of Hormuz and political risk insurance.

Additionally, media reports suggested that two Russian oil cargoes that had been signaling East Asia as a destination have switched to India in a move to mitigate the impact of supply chain disruptions.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, IRGC, declared today that the Strait of Hormuz is closed only to ships from the United States, Israel, Europe and other Western allies.

The benchmark BSE Sensex soared nearly 1,200 points, or 1.5 percent, to hit an intraday high of 80,304 before paring gains to end up 899.71 points, or 1.14 percent, at 80,015.90.

The broader NSE Nifty index also jumped 1.5 percent to the day’s high of 24,854 before closing up 285.40 points, or 1.17 percent, at 24,765.90.

The BSE mid-cap and small-cap indexes surged around 1.4 percent each.

The market breadth was positive on the BSE, with 2,801 shares rising while 1,456 shares declined and 140 shares closed unchanged.

Among the top gainers, Adani Ports soared 4.5 percent, while Larsen & Toubro, NTPC, Reliance Industries, BEL and IndiGo jumped 3-4 percent.