Stock market today: Why Sensex, Nifty recovered from day's lows; what investors should do

Indian equity benchmarks rebounded sharply in Wednesday's trade after witnessing heavy selling pressure earlier in the session. The 30-share BSE Sensex was last seen trading 127.74 points or 0.17 per cent higher at 75,328.59, while the NSE Nifty50 index climbed 50.65 points or 0.21 per cent to 23,668.65. At these levels, Sensex recovered nearly 800 points and Nifty around 270 points from the day's low levels.

Abhishek Basumallick, Co-founder and Fund Manager at Shree Rama Managers, recommended that investors remain conservative at the current juncture. "Avoid going all in, even if you are investing with a long-term perspective. Maintain a staggered approach or consider investing through the SIP route. This is not a very conducive market for taking concentrated positions," he said.

Kranthi Bathini, Equity Strategist at WealthMills Securities, advised investors to stay cautious, adding that the current environment favours a 'buy-on-dips' and 'sell-on-rallies' strategy.

VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments, said, "In India, the market headwind comes from macro concerns. In FY27 GDP growth will be lower at around 6 per cent and inflation can be higher at about 5.5 per cent. It appears that the market has already discounted this. Even during market weakness there will be good appetite for promising growth stocks. As a measure of abundant caution investors should give priority to value stocks which are available at fair valuations now. These are testing times. Patience is the key to success."

Pharma stocks touch highs

India's export-focused pharmaceutical sector emerged as a bright spot in an otherwise volatile market, supported by the weakening rupee and steady investor preference for defensive sectors.

The Nifty Pharma sub-index scaled a fresh record high, as investors continued to shift towards relatively safer bets amid rising uncertainty.

Gaurav Sharma of Globe Capital said, "Pharma is one sector that has been performing well for quite some time. Over the past one month, we have witnessed strong buying interest in the sector. Most of these companies have reported reasonably well quarterly numbers. Export is one part which is completely benefiting. Depreciating rupee against the dollar is an advantageous position for pharma as well as for industries involved in export-oriented business, with IT being one."

Echoing similar views, Kranthi Bathini, Equity Strategist at WealthMills Securities, attributed the ongoing pharma rally to the depreciating rupee. "One can buy pharma and healthcare stocks for medium- to longer-term horizon," he added.

Apart from currency tailwinds, the pharma sector is also witnessing support from rising global demand for generic weight-loss drugs.

Meanwhile, the Indian rupee slipped to a fresh record low of 96.88 against the US dollar.