Sensex gains over 1,100 points, Nifty rises more than 350 points to trade above 16,500

Domestic equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty rebounded over 2 per cent in opening trade on Friday in line with higher Asian bourses as investors assessed long-term risks of the Ukraine conflict.

The BSE Sensex climbed 1,140.58 points or 2.09 per cent to trade at 55,670.49 in opening deals, and the NSE Nifty traded higher by 344.10 points or 2.12 per cent at 16,592.05. On the Sensex chart, IndusInd Bank, Tata Steel, Bajaj Finance, Bajaj FinServ and SBI emerged as top gainers — rising as much as 6 per cent.

On Thursday, the Sensex crashed over 2,700 points — its biggest single-day plunge in about two years; and the Nifty nosedived 815 points. The bloodbath on Dalal Street plunged investor wealth by over Rs 13 lakh crore.

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

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

Meanwhile, the US, EU and Japan are putting on a united front to support Ukraine and agreed on a second tranche of economic and financial sanctions on Russia. Oil prices, which jumped after the Russian invasion on Ukraine, rose again on Friday on worries about supply disruptions. Brent crude futures were up 2 per cent at USD 101.20 a barrel.

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