The Sensex and Nifty staged a remarkable comeback in the second half of the trading session on December 13, closing higher after clawing back from over 1 percent losses at the opening bell. Gains in financial services, telecom, IT, FMCG, oil & gas, and auto stocks helped Nifty reverse its morning decline.

At close, the Sensex was up 843 points or 1 percent at 82,133, and the Nifty was up 219 points or 0.9 percent at 24,768. About 1,741 shares advanced, 2,086 shares declined, and 114 shares remained unchanged. This week, the Nifty 50 rose 0.4 percent and the Sensex gained 0.5 percent, marking their fifth consecutive week of gains — the longest weekly winning streak since July.

"The Sensex and Nifty fully recovered today after the steep intraday fall, reflecting broad-based volatility across the market," said Vishnu Kant Upadhyay, AVP of Research and Advisory at Master Capital Services.

The Sensex surged nearly 1,950 points from its intraday low of 80,000, reaching an intraday high of 82,000 in a dramatic turnaround.

The morning session slump mirrored losses across Asian markets, which posted steep losses due to a combination of factors, including a stronger dollar, rising U.S. Treasury yields, and disappointment in the Chinese economy.

Concerns around Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) selling resumed after they sold Indian equities worth Rs 4,572 crore over December 11 and 12.

While India's Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation eased to 5.48 percent in November from 6.21 percent in October, concerns linger over elevated food prices, potentially delaying interest rate cuts by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

Sector-wise, financial services led the gains in Nifty, with Nifty Bank and Nifty Private Bank rising 0.8 percent, driven by ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, and Kotak Mahindra.

Telecom provided much-needed support, led by Bharti Airtel's 4 percent surge after Jefferies included the company in its top picks for Asia in 2025, citing sustained earnings momentum due to tariff hikes.

IT stocks also extended their rally, with the Nifty IT index climbing for the fifth straight session to a fresh high of 46,088.90, bolstered by gains in HCLTech, Infosys, and TCS.

Meanwhile, the Nifty Metal index, while off its lows, was down 0.7 percent amid concerns tied to the U.S. dollar's strength and China's uncertain stimulus measures. Shares of Tata Steel, Vedanta, and NMDC were the ones dragging the index lower.

The broader market lagged behind the benchmark indices, with the BSE Midcap ending flat and the BSE Smallcap slipping 0.3 percent.

On the Nifty 50 index today, Bharti Airtel, Kotak Mahindra, ITC, HUL, UltraTech led the gains, rising between 2-4 percent. On the other hand, Shriram Finance, Tata Steel, IndusInd Bank, Hindalco, and JSW Steel were the top losers, slipping 1-3 percent.