Sensex recovers 315 points in opening trade; IT, FMCG shares lend support

The BSE gauge Sensex recovered over 315 points to trade at 56,721 in opening deals on Tuesday.

On emergence of buying mainly in IT and FMCG stocks, despite a lacklustre trend in global markets due to the Ukraine crisis.

The 30-share Sensex opened on a positive note and firmed up its gains as the morning trade progressed. It was quoted at 56,721.45, showing a gain of 315.61 points or 0.56 per cent.

Likewise, the NSE barometer Nifty was trading 128 points or 0.76 per cent higher at 16,970.80.

The Sensex was mainly driven by HUL, Wipro, Tech Mahindra, Titan and Infosys – with gains of up to 1.55 per cent.

The BSE Sensex on Monday nosedived 1,747.08 points or 3 per cent to settle at 56,405.84. This was its biggest single-day drop since February 26, 2021.

On similar lines, the NSE Nifty had plummeted 531.95 points or 3.06 per cent to 16,842.80 — closing below the key 17,000-level for the first time this year.

Investors lost more than ₹12.38 lakh crore in the previous two days.

“Markets – stocks, bonds, crude, gold – have turned highly volatile on fears arising from the Russia-Ukraine tensions. The Indian stock market, being expensively valued, corrected the most among emerging markets with Sensex declining 3 per cent yesterday,” said V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services.

Elsewhere in Asia, bourses were trading with losses on fears of a potential Russian invasion of Ukraine. The US administration has warned Russia of severe consequences in case its forces attack Ukraine.

Global crude oil benchmark Brent Futures fell 0.61 per cent to USD 95.89 per barrel on Tuesday.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital market on Monday, as they offloaded shares worth ₹4,253.70 crore, according to stock exchange data.