No stopping bulls! Sensex surges 1,047 pts as investors ignore Fed rate hike

Further progress in cease-fire talks between Russia-Ukraine and softening crude oil prices lured investors back.

The Fed raised rates by a quarter percentage point and signalled hikes at all six remaining meetings in 2022. Chair Jerome Powell statement that the US economy is “very strong” and can handle monetary tightening also soothed sentiments.

Gains across sectors pushed the headline indices higher, with financials and consumer stocks being the biggest movers. The 30-share pack Sensex rose 1,047 points or 1.84 per cent to end the truncated week at a one-week high of 57,864. Its broader peer NSE Nifty50 also jumped 312 points or 1.84 per cent to close at 17,287. Domestic stock markets will remain shut on Friday on account of Holi.

Market at a glance:

• Titan jumped 4.6% to hit an all-time high of Rs 2,721.65
• Nykaa added 3.8% after Jefferies initiated coverage with ‘buy’
• Paytm shares declined over 6% to slip below Rs 600-mark
• HCC JV surged 11.37% on order win boost
• PTC India climbed 3% after the Andhra Pradesh HC directed firm to clear dues
• India VIX, barometer of volatility, eased 6.25% to 22.61

Both Nifty and Sensex have risen in seven out of the last eight sessions on across-the-board buying, making investors richer by over Rs 19 lakh crore, according to the data reflected in the total m-cap of BSE-listed firms. BSE’s m-cap increased to Rs over 260 lakh crore from Rs 241 lakh crore as on March 7.

Nifty has now advanced more than 10 per cent from the low of 15,671 hit last week (March 8) while Sensex has gained 8.75 per cent from recent lows.

Gainers and Losers
HDFC, Titan, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Asian Paints, Reliance Tata Steel were the top gainers, rising over 3 per cent each. M&M, Sun Pharma, M&M, Dr Reddy’s, HDFC Bank, Bajaj Finance were other top gainers, rising over 2 per cent. Cipla, IOC, Coal India were other names in the Nifty pack that ended with cuts in a strong session.

Infosys and HCL Tech were only two Sensex stocks to end in the red.

In 50-pack Nifty, 45 stocks settled with gains today, with the index logging a 4 per cent rise to post the best week since 7 February 2021.

“Global markets welcomed the fed decision to hike rates. However, the Fed’s projection of another six hikes during the year is hawkish. FIIs turning net buyers after a long wait was also a relief for the domestic market. With crude prices receding, war tensions calming down and foreign investors back to buying, we can expect the rally in the domestic market to continue,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

Index Matrix
Market breadth was in favour of gainers, with advance-decline ratio at 2:1, according to BSE. About 2,099 shares rose and 1,303 shares declined, while 127 shares remained unchanged. Over 120 stocks tested their 52-week highs during the session, whereas 19 others tested their 52-week lows. Twenty-two stocks hit their upper circuit limits and eight stocks were locked in the lower circuit.