Sensex surges 390 pts to settle above 61,000 for first time since Jan 3

Benchmark equity indices closed higher for the second straight day on Wednesday amid mixed global cues, led by the banking, financial and IT stocks and settled above 61,000 for the first time since January 3.

The BSE Sensex index ended 390 points or 0.64% higher at 61,046, while Nifty50 rose 112 points or 0.62% to settle at 18,165.

From the Sensex pack, Tata Steel and L&T were the top performers, rising over 2%. Wipro, HDFC Bank, HDFC, Bharti Airtel, NTPC and ITC also closed with gains.

On the other hand, Tata Motors, UltraTech Cements, IndusInd Bank, Nestle, Bajaj Finserv and SBI closed lower.

Sector-wise, the Nifty Metal rose 1.65% and Nifty Healthcare index surged 0.71%. FMCG, IT, pharma, banks and financial stocks also closed higher. In the broader market, Nifty Midcap50 increased 0.67%, while Smallcap50 ended flat.

“The index has soared over all the major exponential moving averages on the daily chart, construing a positive development. However, the current placement at the sloping trendline could be seen as the last hurdle to overcome, and any breakout above 18,200 could trigger a fresh round of longs in the system,” said Osho Krishan, Sr. Analyst - Technical & Derivative Research, Angel One.

“As far as levels are concerned, 18,050-18,100 is likely to cushion any fall in the index, followed by the sacrosanct support of the 18,000 marks. On the flip side, an authoritative move beyond 18,200-18,250 is needed to affirm the bullish trend, and then we may expect 18,400-18,500 in a comparable period,” Krishan added.

Global Markets
Asian markets rose Wednesday to maintain their strong start to the year, with Tokyo soaring and the yen tumbling after the Bank of Japan decided against further tweaking monetary policy.

Japan's Nikkei 225 gained 2.5% at 26,791. China's Shanghai Composite ended flat at 3,224, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng surged 0.5% at 21,678.

And the internationally focused FTSE 100 edged 0.1%, hovering at over four-year highs.

Currency Watch
The rupee strengthened on Wednesday, helped by an uptick in most Asian emerging market peers, while traders noted there were some dollar inflows.

The rupee finished the session at 81.24 per dollar, recovering from trading near its Tuesday's close of 81.76 for the better part of the session. It had declined 0.5% in the first two days of the week.

Crude Impact
Oil prices rose to their highest since early December on optimism that the lifting of China's strict Covid-19 curbs will lead to a fuel demand recovery in the world's top oil importer.

Brent crude futures were up $1.21, or 1.41%, to $87.13 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were up $1.36, or 1.7%, to $81.54. Both were at their highest since early December.

(With inputs from agencies)