Benchmark indices staged a recovery on Wednesday after falling for five straight sessions on positive global cues and buying in Reliance Industries and the HDFC twins. The 30-share BSE Sensex ended with gains of 574.35 points, or 1.02 per cent, at 57037.50 after rising by 753.36 points during intra-day trades to hit a high of 57216.51.

Similarly, the NSE Nifty surged 177.90 points, or 1.05 per cent, to settle at 17136.55. This came even though the IMF slashed India’s GDP growth forecast by 80 basis points to 8.2 per cent for 2022-23.

On Tuesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained over 499 points while the Nasdaq composite rose around 2.15 per cent as some companies posted better than expected results.

In Asia, markets in Hong Kong, Seoul and Shanghai settled lower, while Tokyo finished with gains. European stocks were trading higher in the afternoon session.

However, analysts caution that the joy will be short-lived for investors as they will have to face various headwinds such as the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine, rising inflation globally which would push up interest rates and corporate balancesheets coming under the strain of rising raw material costs.

Foreign portfolio investors also have been consistent sellers this calendar year. Provisional data for Wednesday showed the continuation of this trend and they unloaded stocks worth Rs 3,000 crore.