Sensex Surges Over 1,000 Points On Strong Global Cues; Nifty Trades Above 17,250

The Indian equity benchmarks traded higher on Thursday, taking cues from the global markets. Asian shares advanced in line with a rally on Wall Street overnight as the U.S. Federal Reserve hiked policy rate for the first time since 2018 and signs of progress in talks between Russia and Ukraine lifted investors' sentiment.

The U.S. central bank increased rates by an as-expected quarter-point (25 basis points) and mentioned equivalent hikes at every meeting for the remainder of this year to aggressively stamp out inflation.

Back home, trends on Nifty Futures on Singapore Exchange also known as the SGX Nifty Futures also indicated a positive opening for the domestic indices.

The 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 1,002 points or 1.76 per cent to 57,819, while the broader NSE Nifty moved 285 points or 1.68 per cent up to 17,260 during late morning deals.

Mid- and small-cap shares were trading on a strong note as Nifty Midcap 100 index jumped 1.36 per cent and small-cap shares gained 1.02 per cent.

All the 15 sector gauges -- compiled by the National Stock Exchange -- were trading in the green. Nifty Financial Services and Nifty Bank were outperforming the index by rising as much as 2.03 per cent and 1.95 per cent, respectively.

On the stock-specific front, HDFC was the top Nifty gainer as the stock surged 2.75 per cent to Rs 2,355.10. Axis Bank, Tata Consumer Products, JSW Steel and Kotak Mahindra Bank were also among the gainers.

The overall market breadth stood positive as 2,101 shares were advancing while 510 were declining on BSE.

On the 30-share BSE index, HDFC, Axis Bank, IndusInd Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Asian Paints, HDFC Bank and Bajaj Finance were among the top gainers.

Sensex had rallied 1,040 points or 1.86 per cent to close at 56,817 on Wednesday, while Nifty had moved 312 points or 1.87 per cent higher to settle at 16,975.