Stocks defy war jitters
Sensex jumps 899 pts, reclaims 80,000 mark | Nifty snaps three-day losing streak as global equities recover and volatility eases
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Mumbai: Benchmark stock indices Sensex and Nifty bounced back on Thursday, closing higher by more than 1 per cent in line with a rebound in global equities after recent sharp losses due to the conflict in West Asia.
Snapping its four-day decline, the 30-share BSE Sensex rebounded 899.71 points or 1.14 per cent to settle at 80,015.90. During the day, it surged 1,187.64 points or 1.50 per cent to 80,303.83.
The 50-share NSE Nifty climbed 285.40 points or 1.17 per cent to end at 24,765.90, ending its three-day falling streak.
From the Sensex pack, Adani Ports, Larsen & Toubro, NTPC, Reliance Industries, Bharat Electronics and InterGlobe Aviation were among the major gainers. Tech Mahindra, HCL Tech, Hindustan Unilever and ICICI Bank were among the laggards. Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, jumped 1.84 per cent to USD 82.90 per barrel.
“Indian equity markets ended the session with over 1 per cent gain, managing to snap a sharp multi-day losing streak. With the Middle East conflict entering its sixth day, uncertainty over whether the situation will move toward resolution or further escalation kept market participants cautious, resulting in a consolidation-driven trading session.
“The extreme panic that characterised previous sessions began to ease, reflected in India VIX plunging more than 15 per cent from recent highs,” Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money, said.
The BSE smallcap select index jumped 1.74 per cent and the midcap select index rallied 1.36 per cent. Among sectoral indices, services surged the most at 2.84 per cent, followed by utilities (2.58 per cent), power (2.41 per cent), metal (2.32 per cent), industrials (2.32 per cent), auto (1.95 per cent), realty (1.91 per cent), energy (1.83 per cent) and commodities (1.72 per cent). Information Technology and BSE Focused IT were the only laggards.
A total of 2,803 stocks advanced, while 1,453 declined and 141 remained unchanged on the BSE. In Asian markets, South Korea’s Kospi surged 9.63 per cent, while Japan’s Nikkei 225, Shanghai’s SSE Composite and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng also ended higher. Markets in Europe were trading higher and the US market ended in positive territory on Wednesday.
