On surge: Markets regain lost ground
Mumbai: Equity indices staged a stellar comeback on Tuesday after suffering their worst losses in a year in the previous session as bargain hunters piled into energy, finance and IT stocks amid signs of easing Russia-Ukraine tensions.
European markets clambered up following reports that some Russian troops near Ukraine were returning to their bases, which could de-escalate tensions between Moscow and the West. A strengthening rupee further bolstered sentiment, traders said. Recouping the previous day's losses, the 30-share BSE Sensex surged 1,736.21 points or 3.08 per cent to end at 58,142.05. This was its biggest one-day jump since February 1, 2021.
Likewise, the NSE Nifty soared 509.65 points or 3.03 per cent to settle at 17,352.45.
On the Sensex chart, all 30 shares closed with gains -- with Bajaj Finance, SBI, Bajaj FinServ, L&T, Titan, Wipro and Asian Paints rallying as much as 5.13 per cent. The retail inflation rate breached the 6 per cent upper tolerance limit of the RBI for the first time in seven months in January, while the wholesale price index stayed in double-digits for the 10th month in a row, as per official data released after market hours on Monday.
In line with the benchmark, all 19 BSE sectoral indices logged significant gains. Auto, banking, teck, realty and IT indices were the top performers, climbing up to 3.87 per cent.
Broader BSE largecap, midcap and smallcap indices rose as much as 2.94 per cent. Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Tokyo, Hong Kong and Seoul closed in the red, while Shanghai finished higher. Markets in Europe were trading in the positive zone in the afternoon session. Global crude oil benchmark Brent futures fell 2.44 per cent to $94.13 per barrel on Tuesday.
The rupee snapped its four-day losing streak to close 28 paise higher at 75.32 against the US dollar on Tuesday, tracking a recovery in domestic equities and weakness of the American currency overseas. At the interbank forex market, the local unit opened on a weak note at 75.60 against the greenback and witnessed an intra-day high of 75.31 and a low of 75.72. It finally settled at 75.32, a rise of 28 paise over its previous close.
