Sensex Rallies 477 Points, Nifty Tops 17,200 On All-Round Buying, Global Cues

Asian Paints, Sun Pharma, UltraTech Cement, Mahindra & Mahindra were among the top gainers. On the other hand, IndusInd Bank, Power Grid Corporation of India were the top drags

The broader market indices also ended with smart gains. The BSE Midcap index was up 1 per cent, and the Smallcap index gained 1.5 per cent. Image: Getty

New Delhi: The key benchmark indices — Sensex and Nifty —extended gains on Tuesday on the back of all-round buying and robust positive trend in global markets amid concerns about rising Covid cases.

The Sensex rallied 477.24 points (0.83 per cent) higher at 57,897.48, while the Nifty 50 index surged 147 points (0.86 per cent) to settle at 17233.25.

Gains across sectors led by financial, IT, consumer and oil & gas shares pushed the headline indices higher.

Asian Paints, Sun Pharma, UltraTech Cement, Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) were among the top gainers. On the other hand, IndusInd Bank, Power Grid Corporation of India were the top drags.

The broader indices also ended with smart gains. The BSE Midcap index was up 1 per cent, and the Smallcap index gained 1.5 per cent.

In the previous session, the 30-share equity benchmark settled 295.93 points or 0.52 per cent higher at 57,420.24, and Nifty recovered 82.50 points or 0.49 per cent to 17,086.25.

Supriya Lifescience, which made stock market debut on Tuesday, started trade at the high’s of the day — a 55 per cent premium at Rs 425, as against the issue price of Rs 274 per share on the BSE. The stock finally ended at Rs 389, a gain of 42.1 per cent.

Meanwhile, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained net sellers in the capital market, as they sold shares worth Rs 1,038.25 crore on Monday, according to stock exchange data.

“If the market's ability to discount the future turns right, the global economy is likely to clock decent growth in 2022,” said V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services.

The resilience of the US market (S&P 500 registered its 69th record high on Monday) and the spike in crude are indications that the Omicron variant, though surging, is unlikely to impact economic activity in any meaningful way, he noted.

Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Shanghai and Hong Kong were trading with losses in mid-session deals, while Seoul and Tokyo were positive.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.62 per cent, nearing its highest level in over a month.

In Asia, China reported its highest daily rise in local Covid-19 cases in 21 months as infections more than doubled in the northwestern city of Xian, its latest hotspot. The Japanese currency weakened as far as 114.935 yen per dollar for the first time since November 26, approaching the year-to-date low of 115.525.

Stock exchanges in the US ended with strong gains in the overnight session.

Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude rose 0.12 per cent to $78.31 per barrel.