Sensex Rises Over 400 Points Tracking Global Stocks, Nifty Trades Above 17,400

The Indian equity benchmark indices traded higher in opening deals on Wednesday amid gains across global stock markets.

Asian equities hit three-week highs as cash fleeing tumbling bond markets flowed back toward big tech and other beaten-up sectors, while the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict kept oil and commodity prices high.

Overnight, S&P 500 climbed 1.1 per cent and Nasdaq moved nearly 2 per cent up.

Investors braced for the U.S. Federal Reserve to take an even more aggressive approach to taming inflation.

Back home, the 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 424 points or 0.73 per cent to 58,414, while the broader NSE Nifty moved 116 points or 0.67 per cent up to 17,432 in early trade.

Mid- and small-cap shares were trading on a strong note as Nifty Midcap 100 index rose 0.79 per cent lower and small-cap shares gained 0.71 per cent.

All the 15 sector gauges — compiled by the National Stock Exchange — were trading in the green. Nifty Bank and Nifty Financial Services were outperforming the index by rising as much as 1.13 per cent and 0.93 per cent, respectively.

On the stock-specific front, Dr Reddy’s was the top Nifty gainer as the stock surged 1.76 per cent to ₹ 4,101.40. SBI Life, Bajaj Finance, SBI and Hindalco were also among the gainers.

The overall market breadth stood positive as 1,951 shares were advancing while 649 were declining on BSE.

On the 30-share BSE index, Dr Reddy’s, Bajaj Finance, SBI, IndusInd Bank, Titan and UltraTech Cement were among the top gainers.

In contrast, Bharti Airtel, Asian Paints, Hindustan Unilever, NTPC and ITC were trading in the red.

Sensex had soared 697 points or 1.22 per cent to close at 57,989 on Tuesday, while Nifty had moved 198 points or 1.16 per cent higher to settle at 17,316.