Mumbai, April 13 (IANS) Indian equity benchmarks recovered sharply from their intra-day lows on Monday, helped by buying in defence stocks, even as broader sentiment remained cautious due to ongoing geopolitical tensions in West Asia.

The Nifty closed 0.86 per cent, or 207.95 points, lower at 23,842.65, while the Sensex ended the session down 0.91 per cent, or 702.68 points, at 76,847.57.

Commenting on Nifty technical outlook, experts said that going ahead, 23,900 is likely to continue acting as immediate resistance, followed by the key psychological level of 24,000.

“On the downside, the 23,500–23,600 band remains a crucial support area, where strong buying interest has been observed,” an analyst stated.

“A break below this zone could expose the index to further downside toward 23,300 and 23,000, both supported by open interest build-up and prior price structure,” a market expert added.

Both indices had slipped deeper into the red earlier in the day but managed to pare losses in the second half of trade.

Market participants remained on edge as they tracked developments in West Asia, which continued to influence investor sentiment and risk appetite.

Among individual stocks on the Nifty, HDFC Life Insurance Company, ICICI Bank, and Adani Enterprises emerged as the top gainers, lending some support to the benchmark index.

Among Sensex stocks, Axis Bank, NTPC and ICICI Bank was the three shares that managed to stay in green.

On the other side, Maruti Suzuki India, IndiGo, Bajaj Finance and TCS was among most laggards by dropping up to 4.6 per cent.

The broader markets also mirrored the recovery seen in frontline indices, although they still ended in negative territory.

The Nifty MidCap index declined 0.54 per cent, while the Nifty SmallCap index slipped 0.38 per cent, both closing off their respective day’s lows.

On the sectoral front, selling pressure was most pronounced in the auto and oil and gas stocks, with the Nifty Auto and Nifty Oil and Gas indices registering the sharpest declines.

The FMCG and IT sectors also remained under pressure, contributing to the overall weakness in the market.

In contrast, the Nifty Metal index showed relative resilience, posting the least decline among sectoral peers.

Notably, the Nifty India Defence index stood out, outperforming most thematic indices during the session, as investors showed renewed interest in defence stocks amid the uncertain geopolitical backdrop.

Analysts said that while the late-session recovery provided some relief, the markets ended lower, reflecting continued caution among investors in a volatile global environment.

–IANS

pk