Sensex surges over 300 points while Nifty tops 17,100 in early trade

Despite lingering geopolitical concerns in eastern Europe, the Sensex mounted a brave 300-point rally to re-enter the 57,600-level in early trade on Wednesday, propelled by steady Asian bourses.

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Analysts think that global markets have regrouped in the hope that Western sanctions imposed on Russia in response to Russian troop moves near Ukraine will temper Moscow’s confrontational tone and give it some leeway to avert a war.

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The Sensex was up 342.41 points, or 0.60%, to 57,643.09, while the Nifty was up 105 points, or 0.61%, to 17,197.20. Except for L&T, Nestle, and HUL, all Sensex stocks rose.

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The broader indices were trading in green with the BSE Midcap index rising 1.34%, while the Small cap index was up by 1.80%. The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 2.61%, Consumer Durables up by 1.67%, Utilities up by 1.66%, Consumer discretionary up by 1.52%, Power up by 1.40%, while there was no loser.

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Elsewhere in Asia, bourses were mainly trading up, hoping to avert a conflict in Ukraine after the US, Japan, and European powers put sanctions on Russia. Wall Street closed down on Tuesday as Russia moved troops into Ukraine’s eastern regions, intensifying tensions.

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Russian President Vladimir Putin recognized the independence of Ukraine’s rebel-held territories, stoking concerns of a full-scale invasion.

US Secretary of State Tony Blinken cancelled a meeting with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov later this week in protest of what he described as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

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According to exchange statistics, foreign institutional investors maintained their selling binge in Indian markets on Tuesday, offloading shares worth Rs 3,245.52 crore on a net basis.

Brent crude futures were trading at USD 96.74 a barrel, down from Tuesday’s high of USD 99.50. In early trade, the rupee climbs 21 paise to 74.63 against the US dollar.