Mumbai, Mar 18 (PTI) Stock market benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty rallied in early trade on Wednesday, building on gains of the past two trading sessions, amid a drop in crude oil prices and a firm trend in global peers.
A sharp rally in IT stocks also led to the optimistic trend in the domestic markets.
The 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 518.84 points to 76,589.68 in early trade. The 50-share NSE Nifty surged 157.75 points to 23,738.90.
From the 30-Sensex firms, Tata Consultancy Services, InterGlobe Aviation, Trent, HCL Tech, Infosys and Mahindra & Mahindra were among the major gainers.
HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Tata Steel and Kotak Mahindra Bank were the laggards.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, declined 1.46 per cent to USD 101.9 per barrel.
“Despite the uncertainty regarding the war markets have staged a bounce back. One factor that enabled this bounce back is crude remaining around the USD 102 level and fears of spiking above USD 120 not materialising,” VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments Ltd, said.
In Asian markets, South Korea’s benchmark Kospi jumped nearly 4 per cent, Japan’s Nikkei 225 index climbed over 2 per cent, while Shanghai’s SSE Composite index and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index quoted marginally lower.
The US market ended higher on Tuesday.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 4,741.22 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data. Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs), however, bought stocks worth Rs 5,225.32 crore.
“On the institutional front, continued FII selling remains a challenge. However, strong and consistent buying from DIIs has been providing stability and cushioning the downside, which is a positive sign for the domestic market,” Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money, an online trading and wealth tech firm, said.
On Tuesday, the Sensex jumped 567.99 points, or 0.75 per cent, to settle at 76,070.84. The Nifty climbed 172.35 points, or 0.74 per cent, to end at 23,581.15.
