Bolstered by positive global cues, Indian equity market opened on a strong note on Wednesday and Sensex jumped 573 points in early trade. However, fresh selling at higher levels took off some of the gains.
On Wednesday, the 30-share BSE Sensex surged 573 points to a high of 58,473.63 points in opening session. At 11.10 am, the index was at 58,100.75, up by 200 points over yesterday’s close.
The broader NSE Nifty which rose to a high of 17,211.35, is now trading at 17,097.35, up by 54.05 points.
Asian markets, including Japan and Hong Kong, were trading in the green.
US and European markets on Tuesday ended their trading sessions with gains as latest inflation data from the US indicated that price pressure might be easing.
Major gainers
As many as 28 constituents of Sensex, including Maruti Suzuki, TCS and Reliance, were trading in the positive territory while in the Nifty pack, 45 scrips gained.
Domestic stocks have taken a beating in recent days. Sensex tumbled 2,447 points or 4.1 per cent while Nifty tanked 711 points or 4.6 per cent in the four days to Tuesday.
"US stocks ended sharply higher in volatile trade on Tuesday, rebounding from their steep losses in the aftermath of the failure of Silicon Valley Bank, as investors digested February inflation data which matched estimates and suggested pressure on prices may be easing," Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research at HDFC securities, said.
On Tuesday, Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) remained net sellers as they offloaded domestic equities worth ₹3,086.96 crore, as per exchange data.
In February, the US consumer price index came in largely in line with expectations at 6 per cent, down from 6.4 per cent a month earlier.
"There might be some hope the February data -- combined with the interest rate pressures on banks -- could convince the US Federal Reserve to stop rate hikes altogether. Other market observers are split on the idea and say a 25 basis point increase could be the more likely result," Jasani said.