FINAL TRADE: Sensex ends 278 pts higher; Nifty settles at 21,840.05 amid buying in auto, financials, and oil & gas stocks

Stock market today: The Indian share market on Wednesday (February 14) settled higher, recovering from the day's low after hotter-than-expected US inflation data dented sentiments. Heavy buying in metal, bank, oil & gas, FMCG, auto, and realty counters helped the headline indices close in the green.

At close, the S&P BSE Sensex was up 0.39 per cent or 277.98 points, at 71,833.17, and the NSE Nifty rose 0.45 per cent or 96.8 points, to 21,840.05. 

Among the Nifty 50 stocks, 35 advanced, with BPCL, SBI, Coal India, ONGC, and Tata Steel being the top gainers, rising between 2.61 per cent and 7.3 per cent. Conversely, Tech Mahindra, Cipla, Dr Reddy's Laboratories, Infosys, and TCS were the top laggards, slipping between 1.05 per cent and 2.81 per cent. 

Meanwhile, among the Sensex constituents, SBI, Tata Steel, and Axis Bank were the top winners.

"The domestic market staged a recovery from the day’s low, buoyed by renewed buying interest in banking stocks. Improving asset quality and the government's continued focus on fiscal prudence attracted PSU banks, yet concerns lingered regarding their elevated valuations. The optimism was further supported by favourable inflation figures from the UK, contributing to a widespread recovery," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services.

Nair added, however, that IT shares experienced selling pressure following the release of a higher-than-expected US CPI, prompting concerns over potential delays in interest rate cuts and their impact on client spending.

Meanwhile, the Nifty Mid Cap 100 and Small Cap 100 indexes settled over 1 per cent higher. High-beta Nifty Bank was up 0.89 per cent at 45,908.3.

GLOBAL MARKETS

Global shares were mixed on Wednesday after disappointingly high US inflation data sent stocks sliding on Wall Street and raised prospects that interest rates will remain elevated for longer.

Even after the surprising inflation report, the likeliest outcome is still for the US economy to manage a perfect landing and avoid a painful recession as inflation cools, according to Alexandra Wilson-Elizondo, co-chief investment officer of the multi-asset solutions business at Goldman Sachs Asset Management.

(With inputs from agencies.)