Indian shares posted strong gains on Wednesday as investors took a breather from a sell-off fueled by escalating tensions in Ukraine.
Analysts said the U.S. and U.K. ban on Russian oil imports may have muted effect without other countries joining in step.
Sentiment was also helped after Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky said his country is no longer pressing for NATO membership, a delicate issue that was one of Russia’s stated reasons for invading its pro-Western neighbor.
“NATO is not prepared to accept Ukraine,” he said. “The alliance is afraid of controversial things, and confrontation with Russia.”
Separately, NATO secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg said there were credible reports Russian forces were targeting civilians in Ukraine and urged the Kremlin to ensure the war would not spread beyond.
The benchmark 30-share S&P BSE Sensex jumped as much as 1,223.24 points, or 2.29 percent, to 54,647.33.
The broader NSE Nifty index ended up 331.90 points, or 2.07 percent, at 16,345.35 on the back of short covering and the exit poll results predicting a BJP sweep in Uttar Pradesh.
Mahindra & Mahindra, IndusInd Bank, Bajaj Finance, Reliance Industries and Asian Paints surged 4-6 percent, while PSU stocks such as Coal India, NTPC, Power Grid Corp and ONGC dropped 1-3 percent.
Market Analysis
Sensex Soars 1,223 Points; Nifty Tops 16,300
2022-03-09 11:18:44