FINAL TRADE: Nifty reclaims 22,000, Sensex gains 539.5 pts amid broad-based rally

Stock market today: Domestic blue-chip indices Nifty50 and Sensex ended higher on Thursday, March 21, rising for a second straight day, driven by broad-based buying amid a global equity rally after the Federal Reserve maintained an earlier projection of three rate cuts in 2024. While all sectors attracted strong buying interest, financial, energy and auto shares were at the forefront of the upmove. 

Both headline indices rose 0.8 per cent for the day, with the Nifty gaining 172.9 points to end at 22,012 and the Sensex settling at 72,641.2, up 539.5 points from its previous close.

NTPC, BPCL, Power Grid, Tata Steel, and Coal India were among the top gainers in the Nifty basket, closing with gains of around 3-4 per cent. On the other hand, Bharti Airtel, HDFC Life, Maruti Suzuki, ICICI Bank, and ONGC were the worst hit among the 10 laggards in the pack. 

"The Domestic market is taking cues from the global markets with optimism as the Fed signaled it will remain on track for three interest rate cuts this year despite inflation staying above long-term target," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

Broader indices also participated in the rally, with the Nifty Smallcap100 and Nifty Midcap100 guages surged rising 2.5 per cent and 2.4 per cent for the day, respectively. 

"The broader market outperformed the frontline index, also taking advantage of HSBC's composite PMI reading, which rose to 61.3 per cent in March from to 60.6 in February, indicating that economic conditions are supportive. Short-term traders are taking advantage of the oversold territory from the recent sell-off," Nair added. 

Meanwhile, the high-beta Nifty Bank index, whose 12 constituents include SBI, HDFC Bank, and ICICI Bank, finished the day with a gain of 374 points, or 0.8 per cent, at 46,684.9.

Global markets

European shares scaled record-high levels on Thursday, boosted by basic resources-linked stocks and a strong risk appetite, ahead of a day packed with central bank decisions. The pan-European STOXX 600 index was up 0.7 per cent at the last count, having hit a record high of 510.07 points within the first few minutes of trade after Swiss National Bank reduced its main interest rate by 25 basis points to 1.5 per cent in a move that surprised most economsits.

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