Sensex surges 1,736 pts, Nifty ends above 17,300; Bajaj twins, SBI lead rally

The domestic benchmarks staged a strong comeback on Tuesday and rallied more than 3% amid optimism about easing tensions between Russia and Ukraine. The correction in crude prices and bond yields also boosted market sentiment. The market also witnessed surge in buying amid bargain hunting after strong sell-off in the previous session.

Snapping two sessions losing streak, the BSE Sensex closed 1,736 points, or 3.08%, higher at 58,142, and the NSE Nifty surged 510 points, or 3.03%, to 17,352.

In a similar fashion, the broader markets also ended with solid gains. The S&P BSE Midcap index rallied 2.7%, and the S&P BSE Smallcap index climbed 2%.

The overall market breadth on the BSE was strong, with 2,185 shares advancing out of a total of 3,742 traded stocks. As many as 1,432 shares declined and 125 were unchanged.

"A ray of hope that tension between Russian & Ukraine is de-escalating, prompting a smart recovery in global equities. The domestic market followed the trend as oil prices edged lower. India’s CPI inflation for January rose to 6.01% breaching RBI’s tolerance level due to high food inflation and low base effect, this will be a point of concern for domestic market in the near-term," says Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

Bajaj twins, SBI lead rally

The market witnessed surge in buying, with all top-30 shares on the BSE Sensex ending in green zone.

The top performer on the BSE Sensex pack was non-bank lender Bajaj Finance, which ended 5.13% higher.

The other top performers include State Bank of India, Bajaj Finserv, Larsen & Toubro, and Titan Company, which rose up to 5%.

All sectors end in green

On the sectoral front, all the indices closed in positive terrain, while rate sensitive auto and bank stocks gained the most.

The BSE auto index was the biggest gainer by rising 3.87%, led by Tata Motors, Eicher Motors, Hero MotoCorp, Tube Investments of India, and Mahindra & Mahindra.

Among others, the BSE Bankex index ended with a 3.46% gain. The top performers in the banking space were Bandhan Bank, State Bank of India, Au Small Finance Bank, Federal Bank, and Bank of Baroda.

Asian stocks end mixed

Shares in the Asia-Pacific region ended mixed on Tuesday as investors track tensions in Ukraine, while hawkish comment from U.S. Federal Reserve officials also left investors jittery. Japan’s Nikkei 225 plunged 0.8%, and South Korea’s KOSPI tumbled 1%.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index dropped 0.82%, and Australia’s ASX 200 index ended 0.5% lower.

Bucking the trend, the Jakarta Stock Exchange in Indonesia and Thailand’s SET Composite rose 1% each, while the Straits Times in Singapore ended tad higher.

In mainland China, the Shenzhen component rallied 1.7%, and the Shanghai composite ended 0.5% higher.

European stocks rebound amid bargain hunting

European stocks rebounded strongly on Tuesday, despite negative finish at Wall Street overnight, as traders resorted to bargain hunting after carnage in the previous session.

Germany’s DAX gained 1.3% in early deals, while France’s CAC index rose 1.1%. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 index added 0.6%, while Spain’s IBEX index surged 1.15% in early deals.

In the overnight trade, all three major U.S. indices closed lower as fear of hawkish policy stance from the Federal Reserve and escalating geo-political tensions between Russia and Ukraine continued to drag the market lower. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 0.5% lower, the S&P 500 fell 0.4%, and the Nasdaq Composite ended flat in highly volatile trade.