Sensex surges 887 pts amid global rebound as Omicron fears wane
Market benchmarks made an emphatic comeback on Tuesday after a two-session sell-off, in tandem with a recovery in global equities as worries over the Omicron variant receded. According to experts, world markets heaved a sigh of relief after initial studies showed that even though the Omicron strain of COVID-19 is fast spreading, it is largely milder than the Delta variant.
Bargain hunting in metal and banking stocks, coupled with a modest recovery in the rupee, further boosted domestic indices.
The 30-share BSE Sensex rallied 886.51 points or 1.56 per cent to finish at 57,633.65. Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty jumped 264.45 points or 1.56 per cent to 17,176.70.
Tata Steel was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, advancing 3.63 per cent, followed by Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, Kotak Bank, SBI, Titan and Bajaj Finance.
Asian Paints was the sole laggard, dipping 0.22 per cent. "Domestic bourses staged a recovery... supported by broad-based buying while healthcare stocks lost ground. Global markets traded with optimism on reports that the Omicron strain may not be as severe as expected. Moreover, additional liquidity freed up by the Chinese central bank through policy easing boosted the Chinese markets.
"In the Indian markets, banking and financial stocks advanced since the MPC is scheduled to announce its policy decision tomorrow where the RBI is likely to keep its policies unchanged considering the short-term uncertainties," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.
Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Equity Research (Retail), Kotak Securities, said, "Indian markets mirrored the sharp buoyancy in global indices on the back of short-covering by market participants. The rally was backed by a sharp upsurge in banking and metal stocks, which had taken a severe hammering in recent sessions."
All sectoral indices ended with gains. BSE metal, realty, bankex, finance, basic materials, consumer durables, oil and gas, utilities and auto indices climbed as much as 3.20 per cent. Broader BSE midcap and smallcap indices spurted up to 1.29 per cent.
Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Seoul and Tokyo ended with gains. Stock exchanges in Europe were also trading on a positive note in mid-session deals.
Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude rose 2.26 per cent to USD 74.73 per barrel. The rupee erased most of its initial gains but managed to settle marginally 4 paise higher at 75.41 (provisional) against the US dollar.
However, foreign institutional investors remained net sellers in the capital market on Monday, as they offloaded shares worth Rs 3,361.28 crore, as per exchange data.
