Stock Market Highlights: Sensex makes smart recovery, ends volatile day 697 pts higher; Nifty reclaims 17,300; VIX eases 2%

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Catch latest from CNBCTV18.com's coverage of Russia-Ukraine war

Rupee ends lower by 5 paise at 76.17 vs US dollar

The rupee finishes the day at 76.17 against the greenback. On Monday, it had settled at 76.12.

IT demand extremely strong as seen in Accenture results: Pathik Gandotra

Pathik Gandotra, Partner at Dron Capital Advisors, believes it is the right time to focus on sectors with strong earnings growth. Among the strongest themes in the market at the current valuations is the IT sector, he says.

"Demand is extremely strong, as evidenced by the recent Accenture earnings. The markets will eventually respond to top-line growth rather than bottom-line in IT companies. That's what I think is going to be the theme for the next 12-18 months. These are available at very decent prices after quite a healthy correction," he adds. 

Oil & gas space doing reasonably well: Anand Tandon

Market expert Anand Tandon is of the view that if crude oil remains at current levels, it is likely that gross refining margins (GRMs) will go up for most refiners. "If we were to allow free market pricing, for many oil marketing companies, this is a time when they would be making supernormal profits,” he says. 

Market At Close | Sensex, Nifty50 make smart recovery 

Here are some highlights:

--Reliance, Infosys, TCS, ICICI Bank contribute nearly 60 percent to Nifty’s 198-point move

--Market breadth favours bears; midcap stocks relatively underperform

--OMC stocks rise on fuel price hike; Indian Oil up 2 percent, BPCL 3 percent

--Bandhan Bank surges 9 percent from day's low

--Nifty IT top gainer among sectoral indices; Tech Mahindra, TCS rise the most

--Midcap IT stocks rise; Birlasoft, Mphasis top gainers

--Rain Industries, Birlasoft, GNFC, L&T Finance, Bharat Forge top midcap gainers

Tech Mahindra, BPCL, Tata Motors top blue-chip gainers

Reliance Industries, Bajaj Finserv, ITC, Indian Oil and TCS also among the top gainers. Hindustan Unilever, Nestle, Britannia and Cipla the worst hit among the eight laggards in the Nifty50 basket.

Here's how the 30-scrip packs looks like: 

Closing Bell | Sensex up 697 points, Nifty50 above 17,300

Both headline indices finish the volatile session 1.2 percent higher. The Sensex gains 696.8 points to end at 57,989.3 and the Nifty settles at 17,315.5, up 197.9 points from its previous close. Gains in financial, IT, oil & gas and auto shares aid the smart recovery. (Read more on the closing bell)

Large Trade | 37 lakh HDFC shares change hands on NSE

Around 37 lakh Housing Development Finance Corp shares worth Rs 890 crore change hands on the bourse. 

HDFC shares leap into the green. The stock climbs to as high as Rs 2,420, bouncing back by Rs 64 from their lowest level of the day at Rs 2,356.

Sundaram Clayton announces interim dividend of Rs 44/share

Sundaram Clayton shares down 1.7 percent at Rs 3,585 minutes ahead of the closing bell. 

Reliance, Infosys, TCS, ITC lead recovery in headline indices

Disclaimer: Network18, the parent company of CNBCTV18.com, is controlled by Independent Media Trust, of which Reliance Industries is the sole beneficiary.

Expect Brent crude to test $140/barrel in short term: XM Australia's Peter McGuire

XM Australia CEO Peter McGuire tells CNBC-TV18 that volatility of 5-12 percent in commodities is not going to be uncommon.

He expects crude oil to again test $135-140 per barrel levels in the short term. (Read more)

Buy Tech Mahindra, Titan: Ajit Mishra

Here are two stock recommendations from Ajit Mishra of Religare Broking:

--Buy Tech Mahindra for a target of Rs 1,600 with a stop loss at Rs 1,470 

--Buy Titan for a target of Rs 2,900 with a stop loss at Rs 2,620 

Valuations a concern for India: Credit Suisse's Dan Fineman

Dan Fineman, Co-Head of Equity Strategy-Asia Pacific at Credit Suisse, tells CNBC-TV18 he likes India from a long-term view. However, he is placing his bets on China outperforming Asia from a 6-12-month perspective.

"We had favoured India over China for over a year up until just two weeks ago, when we made a call for investors to switch from India to China on a tactical basis," he says.

India is very vulnerable to higher oil prices, he adds. (Read more)

Buy Persistent, sell RBL Bank: Kush Bohra

Kush Bohra of kushbohra.com shares two recommendations: 

--Buy Persistent Systems for a target of Rs 4,600 with a stop loss at Rs 4,500 

--Sell RBL Bank for a target of Rs 128 with a stop loss at Rs 135 

European shares edge higher

European shares begin Tuesday's session on a positive note but investors remain cautious over the Russia-Ukraine war. The pan-European Stoxx 600 index up 0.2 percent in early deals. 

UK's FTSE: up 0.3 percent

France's CAC: flat

Germany's DAX: up 0.3 percent