Market Wrap, March 24: Indices end up 2%, SENSEX soars 1,372 pts, NIFTY50 above 22,900; NSE-listed firms add nearly ₹8 lakh crore

The Indian stock market ended on a positive note on Tuesday, March 24, supported by upbeat global cues and easing geopolitical tensions. Both the benchmark indices ended nearly 2% higher, driven by a rally in auto and banking stocks.

US President Donald Trump on Monday said Washington was in talks with an Iranian leader and claimed that Tehran was keen to strike a deal to end the war. He also extended the deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, warning that it now has five more days to comply or face potential attacks on its power infrastructure, according to an AP report.

At close, the S&P BSE SENSEX stood at the 74,068.645 level, soaring 1,372.06 points, or 1.89%, while the NSE's NIFTY50 index rallied 399.75 points, or 1.278%, to end at the 22,912.4 level.

During the intraday period, both the SENSEX and NIFTY50 touched highs of 74,489.39 and 23,057.30, respectively.

Nifty Bank snapped its three-day losing streak and ended 2.27% higher on Tuesday, led by Federal Bank (3.75%), AU Small Finance Bank (3.64%) and Kotak Mahindra Bank (3.35%).

According to exchange data, on Monday, the foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold equities worth ₹10,414.23 crore, while the domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought equities worth ₹12,033.97 crore on a net basis.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading higher following a strong closing of US stocks overnight as Trump's comments on Truth Social signalled that tensions in the Middle East might be over soon.

Japan's Nikkei soared 0.96%, South Korea's KOSPI gained 2.67%, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng ended 2.7% higher, while China's Shanghai Composite closed 1.75%.

On Wall Street, the US stocks ended sharply higher after Trump's comment fuelled a rally on hopes that a solution to the tensions in the Middle East might come earlier than they were previously anticipated. 

The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 1.38%, the S&P 500 index gained 1.15%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq rose 1.4%.

Here are the key developments of Tuesday’s session that you need to know

As many as 3,371 stocks traded on the NSE on Tuesday. Out of this, 2,483 advanced and 802 declined, while 79 scrips remained unchanged.

This indicates that the market's breadth is favourable towards advances.

A total of 14 stocks hit their 52-week highs, while 413 stocks touched their one-year lows. Besides, 87 stocks hit their upper circuit limits, and 100 touched their lower circuit bands on Tuesday.

The market capitalisation of NSE-listed companies stood at ₹421.25 lakh crore by the end of the session, adding ₹7.83 lakh crore from the previous session.

The volatility index India VIX slipped 7.44% to close at 24.74 levels.

The Nifty Midcap 100 index ended at the 54,087 level, rising 2.6%, while the Nifty Smallcap 100 gauge settled 2.63% higher at the 15,495.20 level.

All the sectoral indices ended the session with gains, with Nifty Media taking the lead, rising 3.45%. Nifty Private Bank (2.49%), Nifty Auto (2.43%), Nifty Consumer Durables (1.93%) and Nifty IT (1.72%) were the other top movers.

On Tuesday, 45 stocks surged on the NIFTY50 index, while only 5 settled in green.

IndiGo operator InterGlobe Aviation (5.49%), Larsen & Toubro (5.17%), Bajaj Finance (4.97%), Eternal (4.89%) and Asian Paints (4.68%) were the most contributing stocks.

Meanwhile, Coal India (-3%), Power Grid (-1.36%), Adani Enterprises (-0.43%), Sun Pharma (-0.32%) and Cipla (-0.15%) were the only laggards on the 50-share index.