Mumbai: A day after suffering their worst session in about two years, benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty rebounded up to 2.5 per cent on Friday, in line with higher global markets as the US and allies put up a united front to punish Russia with harsher sanctions over the Ukraine conflict. A strengthening rupee and bargain hunting by participants supported the recovery, traders said.
Snapping its seven-day losing streak, the 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 1,328.61 points or 2.44 per cent to settle at 55,858.52. Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty soared 410.45 points or 2.53 per cent to 16,658.40. Barring HUL and Nestle, all Sensex shares closed with gains -- with Tata Steel, IndusInd Bank, Bajaj Finance, NTPC and Tech Mahindra surging as much as 6.54 per cent. On Thursday, the Sensex had crashed over 2,700 points -- its biggest single-day plunge in about two years; and the Nifty had nosedived 815 points.
"Domestic indices staged a firm recovery tracking positive cues from global markets and took advantage of lower valuations following the massive sell-off in the previous session. "Global markets took a breather as the fresh US sanctions did not target Russia's oil exports nor their access to the SWIFT global payment network. However, the market will continue to remain volatile tracking new developments in the Russia-Ukraine war," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services. On a weekly basis, the Sensex lost 1,974 points or 3.41 per cent and the Nifty gave up 618 points or 3.57 per cent during the week.
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"...as it became obvious that NATO countries have no desire for an armed conflict and would rather use the path of sanctions, the risk perception has lowered marginally globally," said Nitin Raheja, Executive Director, Head - Discretionary Equities, Julius Baer. "From an India perspective, the greater risk comes from the impact of rising geopolitical tensions on crude oil and commodity prices. If crude sustains over USD 100 it could create a negative economic impact in the form of rising inflation and a deterioration in the current account deficit," he added. All 19 sectoral indices bounced back on Friday, with realty, power, utilities, basic materials and industrials spurting as much as 5.68 per cent.
Smallcap, midcap and largecap indices too surged up to 4.17 per cent. Asian shares edged significantly higher on Friday, driven by a US rebound, as more sanctions were announced against Russia for its military actions in Ukraine. Bourses in Europe too were trading in the positive territory in the afternoon session.
The US, EU and Japan have vowed to support Ukraine and agreed on a second tranche of economic and financial sanctions on Russia, even as Russian forces continued their advance towards the Ukrainian capital. Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures rose 0.67 per cent to USD 100.80 a barrel. On the forex market front, the rupee climbed 27 paise to end at 75.33 against the US dollar on Friday. Spooked by the Ukraine crisis, foreign institutional investors further offloaded shares worth a net Rs 6,448.24 crore in the Indian capital markets on Thursday, exchange data showed.
PTI
