Markets rally on positive global cues; Sensex jumps 750 pts; Nifty above 17,200 led by banking, IT and consumer durables

17 Mar 2022 , 09:39 AM

Indian markets were broadly on a bull run in the opening bell of Thursday led by strong positive global cues. Sensex neared to 57,700-level, while Nifty 50 stretched its gain to near 17,200 in the early deals.

The performance comes after US Federal Reserve raised intrest rates  on Wednesday for the first time since the 2020 outbreak of Covid pandemic. Globally, US markets ended higher tracking gains in technology stocks amid the Fed’s rate hike.

Meanwhile, investors are cautious about a sharp slowdown for China, because of spreading Covid-19 virus again which has signalled more stimulus support to the market.

A bumper broad-based buying was witnessed with banking stocks outperforming counterparts and leading the rally. Also, IT, Consumer Durable stocks advanced amid a global bullish tone in the sector. 

At around 09:35 AM, Sensex was trading at 57,574.21 up by 756.66 points or 1.33%. The index has touched an intraday high of 57,709.74.

Nifty 50 performed at 17,203.75 up by 228.40 points or 1.35%. The benchmark has touched an intraday high of 17,228.85.

In terms of sectoral indices, on NSE, the Banking index soared by 700 points, while the Consumer Durables and IT index jumped nearly 500 points and 300 points respectively.

Bulls on NSE were – HDFC, Tata Consumers, Axis Bank, Kotak Bank, Aisan Paints, Bajaj Finance, HDFC Bank surging between 2-3%.

Bears on NSE were ONGC, Coal India and IOC down marginally.

On the global front, The US Federal Reserve approved its first interest rate hike at 0.25% or 25 basis points in over three years. Further, according to the US Fed Chairman Jerome Powell, there could be another six hikes this year if inflation remains high as major concern has been shifted to inflationary pressure due to Russia-Ukraine war.

Furthermore, Asian markets saw a positive start with the Japanese ‘Nikkei’ leading the gains up over 900 points in early trade. South Korean & Taiwan markets also rally smartly trading up by over 2%. Chinese institutions stepped in yesterday to buy stocks in Hong Kong & Chinese markets as they spiralled out of control.