Benchmark indices staged a resilient recovery on Tuesday, reversing early session jitters to finish in positive territory. Despite a weak start triggered by a widening trade deficit and rising inflation data, the market found strong buying interest at lower levels. The Sensex advanced 174 points to settle at 83,451, while the Nifty 50 climbed 43 points to close at 25,725. This marked the second consecutive session of gains for the frontline indices, signaling a steady shift in short-term momentum. Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) banks and Information Technology (IT) stocks were the primary architects of the rebound. The Nifty PSU Bank index surged 1.50% to 9,304, led by a strong performance from State Bank of India, which traded near 1,206. The IT sector followed closely, with the Nifty IT index rising over 2% to 33,397. Key individual gainers included Infosys, which jumped more than 2.8% following a strategic global collaboration, and ITC, which added 2%. On the flip side, selling pressure was evident in the metals and realty sectors, while Tata Steel and Mahindra & Mahindra were among the notable laggards. Broader markets significantly outperformed the benchmarks. Mid-cap stocks grew by 1.6%, while the small-cap segment saw a robust jump of 2.9%. This positive market breadth saw 2,391 advancing stocks against 1,680 declining ones on the BSE. Technical analysts noted that the Nifty successfully defended the crucial 25,600 support zone. Sustaining above this level is considered vital for maintaining the current pullback, with immediate resistance now positioned at the 25,800 to 25,850 range. Macroeconomic indicators provided a mixed backdrop. India’s total exports for January 2026 grew by 13.17% to reach 80.45 billion dollars. However, the trade deficit remains a point of caution, alongside WPI inflation which hit a 10-month high of 1.81%. In the currency market, the rupee closed steady at approximately 90.70 against the US dollar. Gold prices saw a downward correction, falling over 1% to trade near 152,500 per 10 grams on the MCX. Institutional activity showed a continuing trend where domestic institutional investors (DIIs) absorbed selling pressure from foreign institutional investors (FIIs). On the previous day, DIIs infused 1,667 crore into equities, counteracting 972 crore in FII outflows. Global cues remained relatively muted as US markets were closed for a holiday, though Asian markets showed mixed results. Market participants are now closely monitoring geopolitical developments and upcoming economic data for further direction.