The Indian equity benchmarks resumed their up move after a pause in the previous session on the back of strong global cues. The Sensex rose as much as 1,084 points and the Nifty 50 index touched an intraday high of 16,987 led by gains in Infosys, Reliance Industries, HDFC, HDFC Bank, Tata Consultancy Services and Axis Bank. Global shares rose Wednesday, led by a 9 per cent surge in Hong Kong’s benchmark after Chinese leaders promised more support for the slowing Chinese economy, while investors awaited the outcome of a meeting of the Federal Reserve.
France’s CAC 40 jumped 2.7 per cent to 6,525.78 while Germany’s DAX added 2.6 per cent to 14,271.77. Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 1.1 per cent to 7,253.71. The future for the Dow industrials was up 0.9 per cent and the S&P 500 future gained 1.1 per cent.
Various factors have contributed to the latest rally, including comments by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy suggesting there was still some reason to be optimistic negotiations might yet yield an agreement with the Russian government, news agency AP reported.
Back home, the Sensex ended 1,040 points or 1.86 per cent higher at 56,817 and Nifty 50 index climbed 312 points or 1.87 per cent to close at 16,975.
Buying interest was visible across the board as all the 15 sector gauges compiled by the National Stock Exchange ended higher led by the Nifty Realty index's 3.6 per cent gain. Nifty Private Bank, Metal, Bank, Auto, FMCG and IT indices also jumped between 1.75-2.5 per cent.
Mid- and small-cap shares were also in high demand as the Nifty Midcap 100 index rose 2 per cent and Nifty Smallcap 100 index advanced 1.17 per cent.
UltraTech Cement was top Nifty gainer, the stock rose 4.63 per cent to close at Rs 6,300. Axis Bank, Bajaj Auto, IndusInd Bank, Shree Cements, HDFC, Infosys, Hindalco, Britannia Industries and HDFC Life also rose between 2.5-3.5 per cent.
On the flipside, Cipla, Sun Pharma and Tata Consumer Products were among the notable losers.
The overall market breadth was extremely positive as 2,304 shares ended higher while 1,129 closed lower on the BSE.
