Indian shares bounced back as trading opened Wednesday, reversing the market's two-day slide, with the benchmark index rising 4.6 percent.
The 30-company benchmark index of the Bombay Stock Exchange, the Sensex, rose 774 points to 17,504 points in early trading. On Monday, the index had sunk 5 percent after plunging 7.4 percent Monday.
On the rival National Stock Exchange, the 50-share S&P Nifty index was up 232 points, or 4.75 percent, at 5,131 points.
| INDEX | CURRENT | PREV. | % CHANGE | |
| NYSE COMPOSITE | 8661.17 |  | 8794.86 | -1.52% |
| NASDAQ COMPOSITE | 2292.27 | | 2340.02 | -2.04% |
| S&P 500 | 1310.50 | | 1325.19 | -1.11% |
| NIKKEI 225 | 12829.06 |  | 12573.05 | 2.04% |
A rally in the stock markets was well maintained at mid-session on Wednesday as the BSE benchmark, Sensex, surged by 1,244 points on agressive buying by funds as the US Federal Reserve announced an interest rate cut by 75 basis points on Tuesday.
The Bombay Stock Exchange 30-share Sensex, which had suffered a loss of nearly 2,300 points in last two-day of turmoil, opened higher and rose further gaining 1,244.32 points at 17,974.26 at 1330 hrs, with most of the heavy- weights like Reliance Industries and Infosys recording handsome rise.
Trading sentiment turned bullish after a surprise cut in interest rate by the US Federal Reserve on Tuesday, stimulating the sentiments of all Asian stock markets.
Similarly, the wide-based National Stock Exchange index, Nifty, rose by 400.45 points to 5,299.75.
Japanese stocks rebounded from the worst two-day drop in 17 years after the Fed cut its benchmark interest rate to revive growth in the world's biggest economy.
Hong Kong share market bounced back in early trade, opening 7.4 per cent up following their biggest-ever one-day fall on Tuesday, after the US Federal Reserve announced a surprise rate cut.
The Federal Reserve on Tuesday unexpectedly lowered interest rates by 75 basis points to 3.5 per cent, the biggest cut in more than 23 years, in response to worldwide stock market turmoil.
MUMBAI, India (AP) -- Indian shares fell sharply for a second day Tuesday amid worries about a
The benchmark Sensex index plummeted about 10 percent at the open, triggering trading halt for about an hour. Subsequent trading was volatile, with index falling as much as 13 percent to as little as 3 percent
By the close, the Sensex fell 875 points, or 4.97 percent, to 16,729.94. On the rival National Stock Exchange, the 50-share S&P Nifty index fell 309 points, or 5.9 percent, to 4,899.30.
Finance Minister P. Chidambaram urged investors to remain calm, telling reporters "there is no reason at all to allow the worries of the Western world to overwhelm us."
He said he has assurances from the central bank and other banks "that enough liquidity will be provided to brokers and market players."
The declines came after Sensex plummeted 7.4 percent Monday, its second-biggest percentage loss ever. Since the start of the year, the index has fallen more than 17 percent.
Many analysts were pessimistic Tuesday, saying they expected more losses in coming days.
"Nobody expected this," said Rajeev Sampat, an investment analyst in Mumbai.
"The pace of the fall shocked people, nobody expected it to fall so much, so fast," he said. "In terms of recovery, we still have some way to catch up with global markets --
There was confusion about how far the Sensex had dropped before it was automatically shut down after first opening Tuesday.
Some brokers said their trading screens showed a drop of 9.75 percent before the shut down, a move that's supposed to be triggered only at 10 percent. The BSE's Web site showed a drop of 11.5 percent.
The S&P Nifty dropped 630 points, or 12 percent, to 4,578 points on the National Stock Exchange before trading was shut down for about an hour.
At the end of the day, the Oil and Natural Gas Corp. was the biggest loser, tumbling 13.6 percent to 962 rupees. Other major losers included tobacco and hotel conglomerate ITC Ltd., down 9.5 percent to 184 rupees; aluminum company Hindalco Industries Ltd., off 9.4 percent at 150 rupees, and automobile firm Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., down 9.1 percent at 611 rupees.
