Indices snap 5-day losing run; Sensex soars 574 pts, tops 57,000; RIL up 3%

Equity markets snapped their 5-day losing run and ended higher on Wednesday amid buying in IT, Auto, and FMCG stocks. The BSE Sensex soared 574 points, or 1 per cent, to close at 57,037 while the Nifty50 ended at 17,136.5, up 178 points or 1 per cent. Both the indices hit intra-day highs of 57,216 and 17,187, respectively.  

Ultratech Cement, RIL, Maruti Suzuki, Asian Paints, Bharti Airtel, and TCS were the top Sensex gainers, advancing between 2.4 per cent and 3.4 per cent. Bajaj twins, ICICI Bank, ITC, L&T, and Tata Steel, meanwhile, were the top laggards, down up to 3 per cent. 

In the broader market, the BSE MidCap and SmallCap indices added up to 0.5 per cent. Sectorally, the Nifty Metal index was the top loser, falling 0.3 per cent, while the Nifty Auto index was the biggest gainer, up 2.4 per cent.

Global cues

European stocks saw some positive gains after opening around the flatline on Wednesday as investors monitor developments in Ukraine and assess the IMF's latest global economic forecasts. The pan-European Stoxx 600 index was flat at the open but soon turned positive to trade 0.3 per cent higher with the majority of sectors in positive territory.

On Wall Street, Nasdaq Futures were down 0.5 per cent, while Dow Jones and S&P500 Futures slipped up to 0.3 per cent.

In Asia, Japan's Nikkei gained 0.86 per cent, South Korea's Kospi ended flat with negative bias, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng wased 0.4 per cent.