Extending rally for the third straight session, the domestic benchmark indices ended higher on Wednesday, supported by buying across bank and realty space. Investors tracked progress in Russian-Ukraine peace talks, while the ease in commodity prices, especially Brent crude, also boosted market sentiments.
The BSE Sensex rallied 740 points, or 1.28%, to end higher at 58,684, and the 50-share Nifty closed at 17,488, up 163 points or 0.94%. In line with benchmark indices, the broader market also closed higher, with the BSE midcap and smallcap indices rising 0.78% and 1.09%, respectively.
“High volatility prevailed in the global market, but peace talks between Russia and Ukraine gave hopes of de-escalation of the war, helping the domestic market to trade with confidence,” says Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.
“The ease in crude oil & commodity prices supported the market as it will help corporates to reduce their margin pressure,” he said.
Top gainers and losers
The market witnessed broad-based buying with 21 of top 30 shares on the BSE Sensex pack ending higher. The top performer was Bajaj Finserv which settled with a 3.82% gain. The other notable gainers include Mahindra & Mahindra, Bajaj Finance, Power Grid Corporation, and Maruti Suzuki India, which rose up to 2.8%.
FMCG major ITC emerged as top laggard for the second straight session with a 2.16% loss amid profit booking. Some of the other losers include Tata Steel, Tech Mahindra, Bharti Airtel, and Titan Company.
Healthcare, realty stocks lead rally
Among sectors, realty and bank indices gained the most, while metal and energy were the biggest losers.
The BSE realty index ended 1.49% higher, supported by DLF, Godrej Industries, Macrotech Developers, Brigade Enterprises, and Sobha.
The BSE bankex index gained 1.36%, led by index heavyweights such as Bank of Baroda, ICICI Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Axis Bank, and Bandhan Bank.
Asian stocks rise, European shares slip in opening
Shares in the Asia-Pacific region ended mostly higher on Wednesday, following strong cues from Wall Street amid hopes of ease in political tensions between Russia and Ukraine. While European stocks slipped in opening trade as investors watch for developments surrounding the peace talks between Moscow and Kyiv in Turkey.
In the Asia-Pacific region, barring Japan, all regional markets ended flashing in green, led by regional heavyweight China. Japan’s benchmark index Nikkei 225 ended 0.8% lower as investors resorted to profit booking after the recent rally.
The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong rallied 1.4%, South Korea’s KOSPI rose 0.2%, and the ASX 200 index in Australia soared 0.7%.
Similarly, Thailand’s SET Composite jumped 0.5%, Taiwan’s Weighted index surged 1%, and the Straits Times Index in Singapore added 0.25%.
In mainland China, the Shenzhen component and the Shanghai Composite rallied 3% and 2%, respectively.
Meanwhile, European markets edge lower in opening deals amid ongoing face-to-face talks to resolve the conflict between Moscow and Kyiv. Germany’s DAX shed 1.2% and France’s CAC index dropped 0.8%. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 index rose 0.1% in early deals, while Spain’s IBEX 35 dipped 0.7%.
