Sensex Up Over 400 Points, Down 1,200 Points From Day's High; Nifty Holds 16,450; Assembly Election Results In Focus

The Indian equity benchmarks traded higher on Thursday during afternoon deals tracking global stocks as diplomatic talks between Russia and Ukraine buoyed sentiment. Investors also turned their focus on assembly election results in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur.

As of 2:07 pm, the benchmark BSE Sensex rose 433 points or 0.79 per cent to 55,080; while the broader NSE Nifty moved 136 points or 0.83 per cent to 16,481.

However, both the indexes have given up most of their gains in the noon deals. Sensex was down more than 1,200 points from its day's high of 56,242.

Mid-and small-cap shares were trading in the positive zone as Nifty Midcap 100 index moved 0.72 per cent higher and small-cap shares gained 1.21 per cent.

13 out of the 15 sector gauges -- compiled by the National Stock Exchange -- were trading in the green. Nifty PSU Bank, Nifty FMCG and Nifty Auto were outperforming the index by rising as much as 2.17 per cent, 1.88 per cent and 1.80 per cent, respectively.

On the stock-specific front, Hindustan Unilever was the top Nifty gainer as the stock surged 3.88 per cent to Rs 2,075.45. Grasim Industries, Indian Oil Corp, Tata Motors and Axis Bank were also among the gainers.

On BSE, the overall market breadth was positive as 2,454 shares were advancing while 856 were declining.

On the 30-share BSE index, HUL, IndusInd Bank, Axis Bank, SBI, Tata Steel and Maruti were among the top gainers.

Sensex had zoomed 1,223 points or 2.29 per cent to settle at 54,647 on Wednesday, while Nifty had moved 332 points or 2.07 per cent higher to close at 16,345.