Sensex Surges Over 450 Points On Positive Global Cues, Nifty Trades Above 17,050

Indian equity indices on Friday traded higher in opening deals, extending their gains for the third straight session, tracking global markets.

Stocks in Asia surged, taking cues from a late overnight rally on Wall Street, as investors focused on a possible slowdown in the pace of rate hikes rather than a U.S. recession after data showed its economy shrinking for a second straight quarter.

The Fed raised rates by 75 basis points (bps), but its chair Jerome Powell dropped guidance on the size of the next rate hike and noted that “at some point,” it would be appropriate to slow down.

Back home, the 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 462 points or 0.81 per cent to 57,320 in the early trade, while the broader NSE Nifty moved 148 points or 0.88 per cent higher to trade at 17,078.

Mid- and small-cap shares were positive as Nifty Midcap 100 rose 1.03 per cent and small-cap climbed 0.85 per cent.

13 out of the 15 sector gauges — compiled by the National Stock Exchange — were trading in the green. Sub-indexes Nifty Auto, Nifty Financial Services, Nifty IT and Nifty Metal were outperforming the NSE platform by rising as much as 1.57 per cent, 1.58 per cent, 1.42 per cent and 1.51 per cent, respectively.

On the stock-specific front, SBI Life was the top Nifty gainer as the stock soared 6.98 per cent to ₹ 1,274.65. Bajaj Finserv, Tata Steel, HDFC Life and Bajaj Finance were also among the gainers.

The overall market breadth was strong as 1,841 shares were advancing while 544 were declining on BSE.

On the 30-share BSE index, Bajaj Finserv, Tata Steel, Asian Paints, Bajaj Finance, Tech Mahindra, M&M, PowerGrid, Wipro, Kotak Mahindra Bank, HCL Tech, Infosys, NTPC, and TCS were among the top gainers.

Also, shares of Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), the country’s biggest insurer and largest domestic financial investor, rose 0.96 per cent to trade at ₹ 681.35.

In contrast, Dr Reddy’s and Sun Pharma were trading in the red.

Sensex had zoomed 1,041 points or 1.87 per cent to close at 56,858 on Thursday, while Nifty had moved 288 points or 1.73 per cent higher to settle at 16,930.