Indices rally amid signs of truce in Ukraine war; Sensex jumps 350 points

Global equity markets, including Indian markets, traded higher as another round of peace talks between Russia and Ukraine got underway amid signs of a peace deal. Easing crude oil prices, too, helped the up-move in indices.

The Indian benchmark stock indices —  Sensex and Nifty50 — rallied for a second straight session on Tuesday after gains in index majors HDFC twins, Bharti Airtel and Infosys.

The 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 350.16 points or 0.61 per cent to settle at 57,943.65 with 20 of its constituents closing higher.

During the day, the index rallied 408.04 points or 0.70 per cent to 58,001.53. The broader NSE Nifty50 gained 103.30 points or 0.60 per cent to settle at 17,325.30 as its 32 components closed in green.

"Reports of peace talks between Russia and Ukraine along with weakening crude prices helped the global markets trade firm," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

Among Sensex stocks, HDFC was the biggest gainer on value-buying after recent losses. The housing finance major spurted 3.06 per cent. Bharti Airtel rallied 2.89 per cent after reports said that the telco may consider a tariff hike and continue with 'premiumisation' to boost its ARPU to Rs 300.

Among major index movers, HDFC Bank rose by 1.4 per cent, Ultratech Cement by 2.7 per cent, Sun Pharma by 1.62 per cent and Dr Reddy's by 1.09 per cent.

Also, the rupee spurted by 43 paise — its biggest single-day gain in 2022 — to close at a four-week high of 75.73 against the US currency on dollar selling by exporters amid hopes of a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine and low crude oil prices.

On Wall Street, the S&P 500 and the Dow industrials gained 0.8 per cent in early trade; Nasdaq was up over 1 per cent. European markets, too, traded in the green.

Oil prices, on the other hand, dropped, extending losses from the previous day on signs of progress in talks between Russia and Ukraine to end their weeks-long conflict, with prices further pressured by China's new lockdowns to curb the spread of the coronavirus. Brent crude fell as much as $6.51, or 5.8 per cent, to $105.97 a barrel in intraday trade; US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude slipped below $100 a barrel after a 6 per cent fall. Both benchmarks lost about 7 per cent on Monday.

"Oil prices are under pressure again on expectations from peace talks between Ukraine and Russia, which could lead to an easing of sanctions," said Hiroyuki Kikukawa, general manager of research at Nissan Securities.

Sanctions imposed on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine have disrupted oil supplies, driving prices higher.

The markets remain unsettled as investors try to gauge what's next for inflation and the global economy as the repercussions of Russia's invasion of Ukraine continue to play out, affecting the world economy.