Mumbai, April 1: Stock markets closed nearly 2 per cent higher on Wednesday, with the Sensex and Nifty rallying in tandem with global peers amid hopes of de-escalation in the West Asia conflict.
Starting the new fiscal year on a high note, the 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 1,186.77 points or 1.65 per cent to settle at 73,134.32. During the day, it surged 2,017.03 points or 2.80 per cent to 73,964.58.
Snapping its two-day falling streak, the 50-share NSE Nifty climbed 348 points or 1.56 per cent to end at 22,679.40.
A drop in crude oil prices also boosted the market sentiment.
From the 30-Sensex firms, Trent, InterGlobe Aviation, Adani Ports, Bharat Electronics, State Bank of India and Eternal emerged as the major gainers.
NTPC, Sun Pharma, Power Grid, UltraTech Cement and Bharti Airtel were the laggards.
In Asian markets, South Korea’s benchmark Kospi, Japan’s Nikkei 225 index, Shanghai’s SSE Composite index and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index ended sharply higher. Kospi jumped 8.44 per cent, while Nikkei 225 index climbed 5.24 per cent.
Markets in Europe were trading in positive territory.
Sectorally, BSE Services surged 4.99 per cent, followed by PSU Bank (3.66 per cent), Industrials (3.40 per cent), Capital Goods (3.29 per cent), MidSmall Private Banks Quality Tilt (3.07 per cent), Consumer Discretionary (2.79 per cent), Commodities (2.72 per cent) and IT (2.40 per cent). BSE Healthcare emerged as the only laggard.
A total of 3,828 stocks advanced while 508 declined and 101 remained unchanged on the BSE.
The US market ended significantly higher on Tuesday. The Nasdaq Composite index surged 3.83 per cent, S&P 500 jumped 2.91 per cent and Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 2.49 per cent.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, declined 0.22 per cent to USD 103.7 per barrel.
Stock markets were closed on Tuesday for Shri Mahavir Jayanti.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 11,163.06 crore on Monday, according to exchange data. Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs), however, bought stocks worth Rs 14,894.72 crore. (PTI)
