The Indian equity market closed on a mixed note on Wednesday, with the Sensex and Nifty ending lower but recovering sharply from the day’s lows. The market saw significant intra-day fluctuations, largely driven by sectoral movements and investor sentiment. While the broader market breadth favoured declines, financial stocks provided crucial support, keeping the Nifty Bank index in the green.

The Sensex slipped 73 points to settle at 74,030, while the Nifty closed down by 27 points at 22,471. Both indices had faced a sharp downturn earlier in the session, but managed to recover, helped by strength in select sectors, particularly financials. The Nifty Bank index outperformed, gaining 203 points, to close at 48,057. The financials sector was buoyed by strong performance from heavyweight stocks like HDFC Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank, which were the top contributors to the Nifty Bank’s gains.

Despite the recovery in the financial sector, the broader market remained under pressure. The Midcap Index dropped by 276 points, ending at 48,487, highlighting the ongoing cautious sentiment among investors. The advance-decline ratio for the day was unfavourable, with 1 stock advancing for every 2 declining, pointing to the weakness in broader market stocks.

Among individual stocks, IndusInd Bank made a notable recovery, up by 5%, bouncing back from the lows hit in the previous session. Meanwhile, Tata Motors saw buying interest following positive commentary surrounding its Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) business, with the stock rising 3%.

In the Adani Group, stocks showed a significant recovery from their lows, with Adani Green and Adani Energy both gaining between 3% and 4%. The recovery was seen as a relief rally after the previous day’s sharp declines.

Voltas continued to attract buying interest, rising by 20% over the past month, reflecting optimism about the company’s positive outlook.

On the other hand, Bharti Airtel saw a pullback, erasing earlier gains, while Reliance Industries (RIL) ended higher after announcing a partnership with Starlink for satellite internet services in India.

Information Technology stocks took a hit on the back of negative brokerage notes, with Infosys, Wipro, and Tech Mahindra being the top losers on the Nifty index.