Sensex Extends Gains By 350 Points, Nifty Settles Above 17,300; Ukraine Peace Talks In Focus

The Indian equity benchmark on Tuesday finished higher for the second straight session amid strong global cues. Hopes of Russia-Ukraine peace talks underpinned investors' sentiment. Asian markets also traded higher in line with an overnight tech-led rally on Wall Street.

Back home, the 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 350 points or 0.61 per cent to close at 57,944, while the broader NSE Nifty moved 103 points or 0.60 per cent higher to settle at 17,325.

Mid- and small-cap shares finished on a strong note as Nifty Midcap 100 index surged 0.41 per cent lower and small-cap rose 0.34 per cent.

10 out of the 15 sector gauges -- compiled by the National Stock Exchange -- ended in the green. Nifty Consumer Durables, Nifty Pharma and Nifty Financial Services outperformed the index by rising as much as 1.03 per cent, 1.54 per cent and 1.01 per cent, respectively.

On the stock-specific front, Eicher Motors was the top Nifty gainer as the stock surged 4.50 per cent to Rs 2,487.

HDFC, Divi's Lab, Adani Ports and JSW Steel were also among the gainers.

The overall market breadth stood negative as 1,436 shares advanced while 1,975 declined on BSE.

On the 30-share BSE index, HDFC, Bharti Airtel, UltraTech Cement, HDFC Bank, Dr Reddy's and Sun Pharma were among the top gainers.

In contrast, ITC, IndusInd Bank, SBI, Tata Steel, NTPC, Bajaj Finserv and Maruti settled in the red.

Also, shares of Hero MotoCorp fell as much as 6.68 per cent to Rs 2,219.