Equity benchmark Sensex pared its early losses to close higher by 231 points on March 28, helped by buying in index heavyweight Reliance Industries and ICICI Bank amid postive global trends.
After falling 537.11 points to a low of 56,825.09 in morning trade, the 30-share BSE barometer staged a recovery in afternoon trade and climbed 231.29 points or 0.40% to settle at 57,593.49. As many as 20 Sensex stocks closed with gains while 10 declined.
The broader NSE Nifty recovered 69 points or 0.40% to settle at 17,222 with 29 of its constituents ending in green.
From the 30-share pack, Bharti Airtel, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, ITC, State Bank of India, Indusind Bank, Power Grid, Bajaj Finserv, Hindustan Unilever and Reliance Industries were among the leading gainers.
On the other hand, Nestle India, HDFC, HCL Technologies, Dr. Reddy’s, Asian Paints, Wipro, Larsen & Toubro, Tech Mahindra were among the laggards.
“Benchmark indices reversed early morning losses on positive global cues,” according to S. Ranganathan, Head of Research at LKP securities.
On Friday, the 30-share BSE benchmark dropped 233.48 points or 0.41% to settle at 57,362.20. The Nifty had declined 69.75 points or 0.40% to 17,153.
Equity exchanges in Tokyo and Seoul settled lower, while Hong Kong and Shanghai ended higher. Stock exchanges in the U.S. also ended on a mixed note on Friday.
European markets were trading with gains as investors weigh the developments of the war between Russia and Ukraine. Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude declined 3.46% to $116.3 per barrel.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital market, as they sold shares worth ₹1,507.37 crore on Friday, according to the stock exchange data.
“Even though the Ukraine war and the consequent crude spike impacted markets initially, the war is not impacting markets much now. The major headwinds for markets in 2022 will continue to be the high U.S. inflation and Fed tightening,” said V.K. Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services.
