Markets end higher led by banking stocks; Nifty settles above 16,850; Sensex climbs over 900 points

14 Mar 2022 , 03:53 PM

After the flat start, the benchmark inched gradually higher, thanks to healthy buying in banking and IT majors and finally ended around the day’s high. The markets ended higher for the fifth straight session on Monday as crude oil prices fell on hopes of progress in Russia-Ukraine peace talks.

On the sectoral front, Nifty Bank and Nifty Financial Services outperformed the index in today’s trade and rose over 2.2 per cent and 2.1 per cent, respectively.

Nifty Realty increased the most on Monday’s trade at 3.3% followed by Nifty PSU Bank (+2.6%) and Nifty IT (+2.7%).  however, Nifty Metal and Nifty Pharma slipped 0.47 per cent and 0.37 per cent, respectively.

The 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 936 points or 1.68 per cent to settle at 56,486, while the broader NSE Nifty moved 241 points or 1.45 per cent higher to close at 16,871. The overall market breadth stood slightly positive as 1,750 shares advanced while 1,723 declined on BSE.

The midcap and smallcap closed on a strong note as Nifty Midcap 100 index jumped 0.20 per cent and small-cap shares gained 0.22 per cent.

On the Nifty 50 index, Infosys was the top Nifty gainer, followed by HDFC Bank, SBI, Axis Bank and ICICI Bank. Whereas losers included IOC, ONGC, HUL, Tata Motors and HDFC Life.