Sensex jumps 268 points after initial fall; Nifty climbs over 16,600 level

Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty opened on a muted note on Friday tracking weak global markets but within minutes recovered the lost ground to trade with significant gains.

The 30-share BSE Sensex opened weak and declined 414.44 points to 55,049.95 in opening deals. But, within minutes, it pared all its losses and jumped 268.39 points to 55,732.78.

Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty dipped 124 points to 16,470.90 in initial trade. Buying emerged soon after, and the 30-share index was quoted 70.70 points higher at 16,665.60.

From the 30-share Sensex pack, Tata Steel, Axis Bank, Bajaj Finance, Sun Pharma and Bajaj Finserv were among the gainers, while Maruti Suzuki India, Nestle, Infosys, Wipro among others were trading lower.

In the previous trade, the Sensex ended at 55,464.39, up 817.06 points or 1.50%. Similarly, the Nifty jumped 249.55 points or 1.53% to close at 16,594.90.

Bourses in Hong Kong, Tokyo and Shanghai were quoting lower during mid-session deals.

Stock exchanges in the U.S. settled lower on Thursday.

Bulldozing a resurgent rainbow coalition-led by the Samajwadi Party, the BJP on Thursday stormed back to power in Uttar Pradesh, and also retained Uttarakhand, Manipur and Goa, while Arvind Kejriwal’s AAP scripted a stellar victory in Punjab, winning a three-fourth majority pulverising its rivals.

Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude dipped 0.36% to $108.90 a barrel.

Foreign institutional investors continued their selling spree in Indian markets as they offloaded shares worth ₹1,981.15 crore on a net basis on Thursday, according to exchange data.

“The global stock market tumbled on Thursday as key peace talks between Russia and Ukraine came to a halt. As a result of the BJP’s triumph, the market gained confidence. However, with the ECB and US Federal Reserve meetings coming up in the coming days, caution is advised,” according to Mohit Nigam, Head – PMS, Hem Securities.