Sensex rises 768 pts from day's low, ends 231 pts up; Inox Leisure adds 12%

The benchmark indices swung to the positive zone in the afternoon trade on Monday as cyclical counters such as public sector banks, auto, and metals marched ahead. Besides, a fall in crude oil prices, and stability in global markets on hopes of fresh round of talks between Russia and Ukraine supported the sentiment.

The S&P BSE Sensex leaped from a low of 56,825 to settle at 57,593.5, up 231 points or 0.4 per cent relative to previous close. The NSE Nifty, on the other hand, bounced back from a low of 17,004 and shut shop at 17,222, up 69 points or 0.4 per cent.  

Bharti Airtel, up 4 per cent, was the top gainer on the Nifty50 index, followed by Coal India, Axis Bank, Eicher Motors, ITC, SBI, ICICI Bank, HUL,IndusInd Bank, and Power Grid. On the downside, UPl, Dr Reddy's Labs, Nestle, HDFC, SBI Life, HDFC Life, HCL Tech, and Adani Ports were the top laggards, falling up to 2 per cent.

In the broader markets, the BSE MidCap and SmallCap indices ended 0.3 per cent and 0.5 per cent lower, respectively. 

Individually, shares of PVR and Inox Leisure zoomed up to 20 per cent on the BSE in Monday's intra-day trade after they announced merger between the two major multiplex owners, in an all stock amalgamation of Inox with PVR. Shareholders of Inox will receive three shares of PVR in exchange for 10 shares in Inox. 

Moreover, shares of Gail India jumped 4 per cent to Rs 153.25 on the BSE in Monday's intra-day trade after the state-owned utilities company announced that its board will consider buyback of shares in its board meeting on Thursday, March 31, 2022.

Shares of Emami, meanwhile, hit a 52-week low of Rs 442.50, down 2 per cent on the BSE in Monday's intra-day trade after the company announced the acquisition of "Dermicool", one of the leading brands in Prickly Heat Powder and Cool Talc category from Reckitt, for a total consideration of Rs 432 crore excluding taxes and duties. 

Sectorally, the Nifty PSU Bank index climbed over 1 per cent to end as the top sectoral gainer, while the Nifty Consumer Durable index eased 0.9 per cent. 

Global markets

European stocks moved higher on Monday as investors continue monitoring developments in the war between Ukraine and Russia. The pan-European Stoxx 600 added 0.5 per cent in early trade, with insurance stocks climbing 1.3 per cent to lead gains as almost all sectors and major bourses entered positive territory.

On Wall Street, Dow Jones Futures were up 0.08 per cent while the Nasdaq Composite Futures dipped 0.3 per cent.

Earlier in Asia, Japan's Nikkei slipped 0.7 per cent, Hong Kong's Hang Seng added over 1 per cent, and China's CSI300 fell 0.6 per cent.