Sensex surges 1300 points; Nifty above 18,050; Financial stocks gain; HDFC twins outperform

Domestic equities closed higher on Monday led by the financial sector which rallied post the announcement of the HDFC Bank and HDFC Ltd. merger. The indices surged to hit their highest in more than two-and-a-half-month, however, investors’ circumspection of the Russia-Ukraine crisis and its impact on the markets, remained.

The 30-share BSE Sensex zoomed 1,335 points or 2.25 per cent to close at 60,612, while the broader NSE Nifty moved 383 points or 2.17 per cent higher to settle at 18,053.

Broader markets underperformed compared to the main indices with Nifty Midcap and Nifty Smallcap gaining 1.6% each.

All sectoral indices ended in green with Nifty Financial Service gaining the most at 4.5% followed by Nifty Bank which was up 3.9% and Nifty Pvt Bank which added 3.8%.

HDFC twins (HDFC and HDFC Bank) were the top Nifty 50 gainers, followed by Adani Ports, HDFC Life and Kotak Mahindra Bank.

On the flipside, Infosys and Titan Company were the only losers on the Sensex.

Meanwhile, the Indian Rupee surges 19 paise to end at 75.55 (provisional) against the US dollar.