Sensex rebound tracking recovery in global peers

Mumbai: A day after suffering their worst session in about two years, benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty rebounded up to 2.5 per cent on Friday, in line with higher global markets as the US and allies put up a united front to punish Russia with harsher sanctions over the Ukraine conflict.

Snapping their seven-day losing streak, the BSE Sensex climbed 1,328.61 points or 2.44 per cent to settle at 55,858.52, while the NSE Nifty went soared 410.45 points or 2.53 per cent to 16,658.40.

Barring HUL and Nestle, all Sensex shares closed with gains — with Tata Steel, IndusInd Bank, Bajaj Finance, NTPC and Tech Mahindra surging as much as 6.54 per cent.

On Thursday, the Sensex had crashed over 2,700 points — its biggest single-day plunge in about two years; and the Nifty had nosedived 815 points.

Spooked by the Ukraine crisis, foreign institutional investors further offloaded shares worth a net Rs 6,448.24 crore in the Indian capital markets on Thursday, exchange data showed.

Asian shares edged significantly higher on Friday, driven by a US rebound, as more sanctions were announced against Russia for its military actions in Ukraine.

Meanwhile, the US, EU and Japan have vowed to support Ukraine and agreed on a second tranche of economic and financial sanctions on Russia.

Brent crude futures rose 0.67 per cent to USD 100.80 a barrel.