Sensex, Nifty Snap 7-Day Losing Streak On Fresh Sanctions On Russia

The Indian equity benchmarks snapped their seven-day losing streak on Friday after US President Joe Biden hit back Thursday against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, unleashing robust new sanctions, ordering the deployment of thousands of additional troops to NATO ally Germany and declaring that America would stand up to Russia’s Vladimir Putin. ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Tata Consultancy Services, HDFC, Reliance Industries and Bajaj Finance were among the top movers in the Sensex. The Sensex rose as much as 1,654 points and Nifty 50 index moved above its important psychological level of 16,700.

The Sensex advanced 1,329 points to close at 55,858 and Nifty 50 index advanced 410 points or 2.53 per cent to close at 16,658.

Asian shares rose Friday after U.S. stocks recovered toward the end of a wild trading day, as the world, including President Joe Biden, slapped sanctions against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.

"US said NATO forces will not go in Ukraine, SWIFT sanction was not applied and energy sector was kept out from sanction were some reasons for strong rebound," said Ravi Singhal, vice chairman at GCL securities.

Buying was visible across the board as all the 15 sector gauges compiled by the National Stock Exchange ended higher led by the Nifty Metal index's nearly 6 per cent jump. Nifty Realty, Healthcare, Private Bank, PSU Bank, Financial Services and Bank indices also rose between 3-5 per cent.

Mid- and small-cap shares also staged a strong rebound during the session as Nifty Midcap 100 index surged 4.2 per cent and Nifty Smallcap 100 index advanced nearly 5 per cent.

Coal India was top Nifty gainer, the stock rose nearly 9 per cent to Rs 163. Tata Motors, Tata Steel, Adani Ports, IndusInd Bank, Bajaj Finance, JSW Steel, Divi's Labs, Tata Consumer Products and NTPC also rose between 4.5-8 per cent.

On the flipside, Britannia Industries, Nestle India and Hindustan Unilever were among the notable losers.

The overall market breadth was positive as 2,638 shares ended higher while 732 closed lower on the BSE.