India’s stock market opened higher on Wednesday, mirroring gains in Asian peers, as hopes of a potential de-escalation in Iran war eased concerns over surging crude oil prices and global inflation.
The S&P BSE Sensex rose as much as 2.73%, or 1,968.98 points, to 73,916.53 even as the wider NSE Nifty 50 gained 2.71% to an intraday high of 22,937.65. All 16 major sectors logged gains at the open. The broader small-caps and mid-caps advanced 3.5% and 3.2%, respectively.
Other Asian markets surged 4.2% while Brent crude hovered around $105 a barrel on expectations of de-escalation in the Iran war.
US President Donald Trump said Washington could end its military attacks on Iran within two to three weeks, adding that Tehran would not need to strike a deal as a prerequisite for the conflict to wind down.
Back home, equity benchmarks fell more than 11% in March to log their worst month in six years, with foreign investors offloading a record $12.7 billion during the month.
“Nifty Bank suffered the worst cut with crash of around 17 %. This segment holds the promise of sharp recovery when the market bounces back,” V.K. Vijayakumar, chief investment strategist at Geojit Investments Ltd.
“Leading private sector bank has been beaten down on non-fundamental issues. For long-term investors, this presents a buying opportunity.”
