Sensex ends 936 pts higher, Nifty at 16,871; Infy, HDFC Bank, SBI lead

The domestic bourses extended their winning streak for the fifth straight session on Monday amid hopes for progress in Russian-Ukraine peace talks. The strong buying in banking and IT space along with firm cues from global peers also supported the market rally. However, selling across realty and oil & gas space capped upmove.

Early today, the BSE Sensex started on a flat note, tracking mixed cues from Asian peers, but soon gained momentum, thanks to a surge in buying in banking and IT heavyweights. The 30-share Sensex ended 936 points, or 1.68%, higher at 56,486, and the Nifty50, gained 241 points, or 1.45%, to close at 16,871.

The broader market ended on a subdued note with the BSE midcap and smallcap indices gaining 0.02% and 0.31%, respectively.

The overall market breadth on the BSE was flat, with 1,857 shares advancing of a total of 3,879 traded stocks. As many as 1,852 shares declined and 170 were unchanged.

Among individual stocks, One97 Communications, the parent company of Paytm, hit a fresh low after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) barred Paytm Payments Bank from onboarding new customers with immediate effect, citing certain supervisory concerns.

Shares of HDFC Bank gained nearly 3% intraday after The share price of HDFC Bank surged after the central bank removed a ban on its business-generating activities planned under the bank's Digital 2.0 program.

Shares of Patanjali-owned Ruchi Soya Industries hit the 20% upper circuit ahead of its follow-on public offer (FPO) which opens on March 24. The stock ended trading at ₹964.40, up ₹160 apiece on BSE on Monday.

Bank, IT sectors lead rally

The domestic equities witnessed broad-based buying today with most of the sectors closing in the green zone, led by the bank and information technology (IT) index. The BSE bankex index was the top performer with a 2.31% gain, led by index heavyweights such as HDFC Bank, State Bank of India, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, and Bank of Baroda.

The BSE IT index was also among the best performers by rising 2.16%. The gain in IT space was supported by Infosys, NIIT, Expleo Solutions, R Systems International, and Brightcom Group.

Top gainers and losers

IT major Infosys was the biggest gainer on the BSE Sensex pack, ending 3.76% higher. The other top gainers include HDFC Bank, State Bank of India, Maruti Suzuki India, and Axis Bank, which rose up to 32.5% on the BSE.

On the losing side, FMCG major Hindustan Unilever Ltd. (HUL) topped the chart with 1.66%. Among others, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, Dr. Reddy's Laboratories, Tata Steel closed in negative terrain.

Asian markets closed mixed, European stocks rise

Shares in the Asia-Pacific region closed mixed today, while European stocks edged higher in opening deals amid concerns about the economic impact of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict. The market also witnessed caution ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve's two-day policy meeting slated to begin tomorrow. The U.S. central bank is widely expected to raise interest rates from zero for the first time since 2018 after data last week showed consumer prices surged in February.

In the Asia-Pacific region, Japan’s benchmark index Nikkei 225 ended 0.58% higher, Thailand’s SET Composite rose 0.13%, and Jakarta Composite in Indonesia gained 0.43%.

closing 3.94% higher following overnight declines in crude prices. South Korea’s KOSPI jumped 2.2% and the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong climbed 1.3%. ASX 200 index was the best performer in the region with a 1.2% gain.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was the worst performer in the regional market with a 4.97% loss. The Straits Times Index in Singapore dropped 0.54%, South Korea’s KOSPI slipped 0.6%, and Taiwan Weighted index fell marginally lower.

In mainland China, the Shenzhen component nosedived 3%, while the Shanghai Composite cracked 2.6%.

Meanwhile, European markets edge higher in opening trade despite persistent concerns about the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict. Germany’s DAX jumped 2.8% and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 index gained 0.37% in early deals. France’s CAC index soared 1.9%, while Spain’s IBEX 35 climbed 1.34%.