The Sensex and Nifty50 opened higher on Friday, amid cautious advances in global markets following US President Joe Biden’s announcement of severe new sanctions against Russia. Investors throughout the world were keeping a close eye on the Russia-Ukraine crisis.

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Gains across sectors aided the indexes in building on their early lead, with financial, information technology, and oil and gas stocks leading the way. The Nifty Midcap 100 and Smallcap 100 indexes rose 3-4%, indicating that broader markets were strengthening. The 50-scrip index began the March futures & options (F&O) series after finishing February with a fall of 862 points, or 5%.

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Benchmark indices extended the opening gains and traded near the day’s high with Nifty above 16,600. The Sensex was up 1,333.07 points or 2.44% at 55,862.98, and the Nifty was up 409.80 points or 2.52% at 16,657.80. About 2,371 shares have advanced, 548 shares declined, and 85 shares are unchanged.

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“Market has corrected significantly with Nifty, Nifty Midcap and Nifty Smallcap declining sharply by 12%, 20% and 22% respectively. This has made valuations fair with Nifty trading around 17 times FY23 earnings. But we are in the context of a war with a high level of uncertainty. A lot will depend on whether this will be a short war or will it get prolonged. If it turns out to be a short war with Russia succeeding in putting a pro-Russian government in Ukraine soon, markets are likely to bounce back”, said V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services.

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“On the other hand, if it gets prolonged, the uncertainty will impact markets. Since the situation remains fluid, investors may remain cautious and vigilant. For long-term investors who can ignore the short-term gyrations in the market, there are buying opportunities in high-quality stocks that have corrected significantly. Financials, IT and real estate stocks have the potential to bounce back smartly in a favourable environment”, he added. 

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Top Sensex gainers were IndusInd Bank, Tata Steel, Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M), Bajaj Finserv, Wipro, ICICI Bank, TCS, SBI, and RIL. The Nifty sectoral indices were all trading in positive territory. The Nifty Bank index increased by 2.5%, followed by the Nifty Auto, Nifty Media, Nifty PSU Bank, and Nifty Metal indexes. The India VIX, or volatility index, decreased 15.02% to 27.18%.

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The share price of Apollo Hospitals Enterprise increased on February 25 when the National Stock Exchange (NSE) announced that the stock would be included in the benchmark Nifty 50 index beginning March 31. Apollo Hospitals will be the first healthcare services company to be included in the benchmark index, taking the place of Indian Oil Corporation.