FINAL TRADE: Nifty settles at fresh closing peak of 22,217, Sensex leaps 535 pts as bulls return after a breather

Stock market today: Domestic blue-chip indices Nifty50 and Sensex settled 0.74 per cent stronger on Thursday, February 22, helped by a strong recovery in the second half of the session. Technology (IT) shares countered losses in financial stocks.

The 50-scrip index rose 162.4 points, or 0.74 per cent to settle at a record of 22,217.45 for the day, while the Sensex closed at 73,158.24, up 535.15 points, or 0.74 per cent.

The fag-end surge helped the 50-scrip gauge reach a record of 22,252.5 in intraday trade, a fourth straight day of record highs. On the other hand, Nifty Bank closed 99.9 points, or 0.21 per cent, lower at 46,919.8.

Coal India, Bajaj Auto, Eicher Motors, and ITC were among the top gainers in the Nifty basket, trading with gains of around three per cent. On the other hand, IndusInd Bank, HDFC Bank, BPCL, and Kotak Bank were among the top losers, down nearly 2-1 per cent.

"The domestic market staged a recovery from the day’s low, buoyed by positive PMI data from the Eurozone and an impressive earnings report from US tech stocks, Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services, said.

"The broader market showed resilience as India’s economic activity continued to expand in February, with both service and manufacturing PMI improving. Consequently, it resulted in outperformance in discretionary stocks and capital goods," Nair added.

Meanwhile, broader indices Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 gained 1.02 per cent and 0.68 per cent for the day, respectively.

Global Market

European shares rose to a record high on Thursday, boosted by a rally in global stocks that also saw Japan's blue-chip Nikkei index hit an all-time high. Europe's broad STOXX 600 index rose to 495.77 points, surpassing the 495.46 reached in January 2022, as unexpectedly strong revenue forecasts from US chip giant Nvidia lifted sentiment around the world.

The European benchmark was last up almost 1 per cent on the day and has rallied almost 4 per cent this year, following a gain of just over 10 per cent last year.

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