Sensex rallies nearly 900 points; Nifty jumps over 272 points on firm global trends

Mumbai, Mar 3 (PTI) The Sensex jumped nearly 900 points and the Nifty rallied over 272 points on Friday, bouncing back from the previous day’s fall, following a positive trend in global equities and fresh foreign fund inflows.

The BSE Sensex rallied 899.62 points or 1.53 per cent to end at 59,808.97 after starting the trade on a positive note. During the day, it jumped 1,057.69 points or 1.79 per cent to 59,967.04.

The NSE Nifty advanced 272.45 points or 1.57 per cent to settle at 17,594.35.

“Markets posted a strong rebound on Friday and gained over one and a half per cent, tracking supportive global cues. Today’s rebound can be attributed to the recovery in the US as we’re mirroring the global markets and we expect the same trend to continue,” said Ajit Mishra, VP – Technical Research, Religare Broking Ltd.

From the Sensex pack, State Bank of India, Bharti Airtel, Reliance Industries, ITC, Tata Steel, IndusInd Bank, HDFC Bank, Tata Motors, HDFC and Titan were the major gainers.

Tech Mahindra, UltraTech Cement, Nestle and Asian Paints were the laggards.

In the broader market, the BSE smallcap gauge climbed 0.68 per cent and midcap index jumped 0.58 per cent.

The sectoral indices ended in the green, with services rallying 3.17 per cent, bankex jumping 2.13 per cent, utilities (1.84 per cent), financial services (1.76 per cent), commodities (1.69 per cent) and power (1.60 per cent).

In Asian markets, Seoul, Japan, China and Hong Kong ended in the green.

Equity markets in Europe were trading in the positive territory. The US markets had ended higher on Thursday.

Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) bought shares worth Rs 12,770.81 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data.

“The market had more reasons to cheer today than to worry about concerns regarding inflation. PSU banks led the sectoral rally as reports of foreign investments in Adani stocks helped the sector in recouping the dampened sentiments. The sentiment was further lightened as FIIs turned in strong buyers,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

The embattled Adani Group has sold minority stakes in four of its listed companies to US-based GQG Partners for Rs 15,446 crore as the apple-to-airport conglomerate, recovering from a sell-off triggered by a short-seller report, looks to shore up liquidity ahead of the USD 2 billion debt repayment due in the coming months.

Shares of all Adani Group companies rallied on Friday, with Adani Enterprises jumping nearly 17 per cent. In past three trading sessions, the combined market valuation of the ten listed firms have jumped more than Rs 1.42 lakh crore.

The seasonally adjusted S&P Global India Services PMI Business Activity Index rose from 57.2 in January to 59.4 in February — its highest level in 12 years.

The expansion of services sector was supported by favourable demand conditions and new business gains, the monthly survey said on Friday.

International oil benchmark Brent crude dipped 0.07 per cent to USD 84.69 per barrel.