Stock Market Update: Sensex Rallies 300 Points. Paytm Hits New Low, HDFC Bank, Infosys Among Top Gainers

Paytm hit all-time low of Rs 677 on the BSE after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) barred Paytm Payments Bank (PPBL) from onboarding new customers and ordered an IT audit

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New Delhi: Markets opened on a positive note despite uncertainty on developments around Russia-Ukraine talks as the Sensex climbed 300 points to 55,850, while the NSE Nifty was at 16,681, higher by 51 points.

HDFC Bank, Infosys, ICICI Bank, HDFC, SBI, Asian Paints, Tech M, Bajaj Finserv, and Wipro were among the top gainers. Hindustan Unilever, HCL Tech, Dr Reddy's, M&M and Reliance were the top losers, down up to 1.6 per cent.

Among other worst-performing stocks on the BSE include Paytm as the company hit an all-time low of Rs 677 on the BSE in Monday’s intra-day trade after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) barred Paytm Payments Bank (PPBL) from onboarding new customers and ordered an IT audit.

 The company, which plunged 12 per cent on Monday, had said their existing customers can continue to use all the banking services.

HDFC Bank share price rose more than 2 percent in the early trade on Monday after the RBI lifted the restrictions that were placed on the fresh digital launches of HDFC Bank.

"The Reserve Bank of India has lifted the restriction on the business generating activities planned under the HDFC Bank’s Digital 2.0 programme, vide its letter dated March 11, 2022," bank said in its press release.

Oil prices continued with the decline to fall by about $4 a barrel during early trade on Monday after a US official said Russia was showing signs it might be willing to have substantive negotiations over Ukraine, according to Reuters.

Brent crude futures LCOc1 was last down by $4.12 or 3.6 per cent at $108.55 a barrel at 0115 GMT on Monday.

US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures CLc1 eased $3.93 or 3.7 per cent to $105.40 a barrel. Both contracts have surged since Russia's February 24 invasion of Ukraine and are up roughly 40 per cent for the year to date.

Asian markets were trading on a mixed note in Monday as Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell almost 3 per cent and South Korea's KOSPI dropped 0.85 per cent while Japan's Nikkei rose 0.7 per cent and Taiwan Weighted rose 0.14 per cent.