Stock market indices close positive: Sensex soars 874 points, Nifty nears 17,400

Benchmark stock market indices closed higher on April 22. Sensex ended 874 points higher while the Nifty closed at 17,392. Bank Nifty added 1.38 percent. Bank, pharma, auto, IT, power, realty and capital goods indices were up 1-2 percent. The BSE midcap and smallcap indices rose 1 percent each.

At close, the Sensex was up 874.18 points or 1.53 percent at 57,911.68.

The broader Nifty was up 256.10 points or 1.49 percent at 17,392.60. About 2,252 shares have advanced, 1,089 shares declined, and 96 shares were unchanged.

Among major gainers on the Nifty were Eicher Motors, Coal India, M&M, Maruti Suzuki and Adani Ports. Cipla, Hindalco Industries, Tata Steel, ONGC and JSW Steel were the laggards.

Global shares trade mixed

Global shares were mixed in choppy trading on Thursday as inflation worries and the war in Ukraine had investors partly optimistic while remaining cautious.

European shares were mostly higher in early trading. Benchmarks finished higher in Japan, South Korea and Australia, but declined in China, Reuters said.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 jumped 1.2 percent to finish at 27,553.06. Australia's S and P/ASX 200 added 0.3 percent to 7,592.80.

South Korea's Kospi surged 0.4 percent to 2,728.21. Hong Kong's Hang Seng slipped 1.3 percent to 20,682.22, while the Shanghai Composite fell 2.3 percent to 3,079.81.

The US Fed has already announced a quarter-percentage point rate hike and Wall Street expects a half-percentage rate hike at its next meeting in two weeks.

(With inputs from Reuters)

Published on: Thursday, April 21, 2022, 03:52 PM IST