Taking Stock | Sensex gains 350 points, Nifty above 17,300 on positive global cues

Taking Stock | Sensex gains 350 points, Nifty above 17,300 on positive global cues

Indian shares ended higher for the second consecutive session on March 29 on positive global cues following reports of peace talks between Russia and Ukraine and a fall in crude prices.

At close, the Sensex was up 350.16 points, or 0.61 percent, at 57,943.65 and the Nifty was up 103.30 points, or 0.60 percent, at 17,325.30.

"Reports of peace talks between Russia and Ukraine along with weakening crude prices helped the global markets to trade firm. Gains in the Asian markets were led by Japanese shares as the Bank of Japan maintained its ultra-loose monetary policy in order to control rising yields," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

Crude prices settled following the prospects of peace talks and on the expectation of lower demand from the Chinese market due to increased Covid restrictions, he added.

Eicher Motors, Divi’s Labs, JSW Steel, HDFC and Adani Ports were among the top Nifty gainers. Hero MotoCorp, ONGC, Coal India, IOC and ITC saw the biggest fall.

Among sectors, the Nifty pharma index rose 1.5 percent, while PSU bank index shed 0.8 percent.

Stocks and sectors

On the BSE, except oil & gas and auto, all indices ended in the green. Healthcare and realty were