Sensex zooms 807 pts higher; Nifty jumps above 23,750 mark; VIX slumps 4.56%

The domestic equity benchmarks traded with significant gains in the afternoon trade following gains in global markets ahead of the US Federal Reserve's interest rate decision due later today. Meanwhile, investors remained cautious over the ongoing US-Iran war in the Middle East and rising oil prices.

The Nifty traded above the 23,750 mark. All the sectoral indices traded in green on the NSE.

At 13:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex soared 807.29 points or 1.06% to 76,878.13. The Nifty 50 index climbed 21.90 points or 0.90% to 23,793.05.

The broader market outperformed the frontline indices. The BSE 150 MidCap Index jumped 1.96% and the BSE 250 SmallCap Index rallied 2.09%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 3,208 shares rose and 914 shares fell. A total of 159 shares were unchanged.

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, declined 4.56% to 18.89.

West Asia Conflict:

The Middle East war continues to escalate, keeping investors on edge. A fresh wave of attacks on the United Arab Emirates' energy infrastructure has heightened fears of prolonged supply disruptions amid the Iran war.

The incidents followed a drone strike on the world's largest ultra-sour gas development, a fire at the UAE's Fujairah Oil Industry Zone, and damage to a tanker near the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz.

In latest development, Iran intensified attacks against U.S. assets in the Middle East and Israel on Wednesday in apparent retaliation against the killing of the country's security chief Ali Larijani overnight, as the weeks-long conflict shows no signs of abating.

Gainers & Losers:

Jio Financial Services (up 4.50%), Tech Mahindra (up 4.08%), Infosys (up 3.92%), HCL Technologies (up 3.64%) and Eternal (up 3.32%) were the major Nifty50 gainers.

Coal India (down 2.41%), NTPC (down 1.24%), Cipla (down 0.74%), Hindustan Unilever (down 0.63%) and HDFC Bank (down 0.54%) were the major Nifty50 losers.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Bondada Engineering rallied 3.07% after it has secured an order from Bharat Electronics (BEL) for the supply of critical components for defence applications.

Strides Pharma Science added 4.82% after the company announced the acquisition of multiple generic brands from Sandoz for its Africa business.

The agreement spans four key markets, which include Western Sahara (covering 10 countries), Ghana, Nigeria, and Kenya. The branded generics portfolio of Sandoz, as a part of this deal, includes multiple brands across anti-infective, cardiovascular, and dermatology therapeutic segments.

CESC rose 0.58%. The company said that it has awarded contracts for procurement of 600 MW of wind-solar hybrid power on a long-term basis to four domestic entities.

Mankind Pharma advanced 2.50% after the company announced that it has acquired the Rivotril brand from Roche for the Indian market, with exclusive rights to manufacture, market and distribute the product across the country.

Global Markets:

European markets opened broadly higher on Wednesday as the market fallout of the Iran war remains in the spotlight ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve's next policy move.

Asia markets advanced as investors assess Japan trade data and await U.S. Federal Reserve's interest rate decision.

Markets expect the Fed to keep interest rates steady between 3.5% and 3.75% on Wednesday stateside.

On the data front, Japanese exports increased by 4.2% year-on-year in February. Exports had risen 16.8% jump in the previous month.

The Middle East war continues to escalate, keeping investors on edge. A fresh wave of attacks on the United Arab Emirates' energy infrastructure has heightened fears of prolonged supply disruptions amid the Iran war.

The incidents followed a drone strike on the world's largest ultra-sour gas development, a fire at the UAE's Fujairah Oil Industry Zone, and damage to a tanker near the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz.

In latest development, Iran intensified attacks against U.S. assets in the Middle East and Israel on Wednesday in apparent retaliation against the killing of the country's security chief Ali Larijani overnight, as the weeks-long conflict shows no signs of abating.

Overnight in the U.S., the S&P 500 rose as Wall Street built on the momentum seen in the previous session amid developments in the Iran war.

The broad market index closed up 0.25% at 6,716.09, and the Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.47% to finish at 22,479.53. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 46.85 points, or 0.1%, to end at 46,993.26.

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