Bourses begin 2022 in style: Sensex reclaims 59,000 mark

Mumbai: Equity indices ratcheted higher in the first trading session of 2022 on Monday, propelled by brisk buying in banking, finance and IT counters amid a global rally even as surging Omicron cases remained an overhang.

Investors' wealth jumped by Rs 3,49,642.03 crore on Monday, the first day of trading in 2022, helped by a rally in the equity market.

Starting off the session confidently, the 30-share BSE benchmark Sensex gained further momentum as the day progressed and touched the day's high of 59,266.39. It finally ended at 59,183.22, up 929.40 points or 1.60 per cent. Likewise, the broader NSE Nifty soared 271.65 points or 1.57 per cent to settle at 17,625.70.

Bajaj Finance led the Sensex gainers chart with a jump of 3.52 per cent, followed by Bajaj FinServ, ICICI Bank, Tata Steel, IndusInd Bank, HDFC Bank and Axis Bank.

Only five index constituents finished in the red — Dr Reddy's, M&M, Tech Mahindra, Nestle India and Titan, slipping up to 1.13 per cent.

The Indian equity market ended the year 2021 with robust gains on Friday. On yearly basis, the Sensex advanced 21.99 per cent or 10,502.49 points, while the Nifty rose 24.11 per cent or 3,372.3 points. Barring healthcare, all BSE sectoral indices finished higher, led by bankex, finance, metal, energy and basic materials.BSE largecap, midcap and smallcap indices gained as much as 1.48 per cent.

Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude rose 1.49 per cent to $78.94 per barrel. On Friday, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net buyers in the capital market, as they purchased shares worth Rs 575.39 crore, according to stock exchange data.