INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
ICICI Bank, Reliance Industries and HDFC contributed the most to the gain in Sensex
Domestic stock markets registered strong gains on Thursday mirroring strength in Asian peers as the US and Iran
backed away from the brink of further conflict escalation in the Middle East
The S-P BSE Sensex index climbed up as much as 664.38 points to touch 41,482.12 on the upside during the session and the broader NSE Nifty
benchmark moved to as high as 12,224.05, up 198.7 points from the previous close, before giving up some of those gains by the end of the
Buying across sectors barring information technology shares - led by financial, auto, energy and infrastructure shares - pushed the markets
on the Nifty 50 benchmark index were JSW Steel, Bharti Infratel, Tata Motors, ICICI Bank and IndusInd Bank, ending between 3.37 per cent and
On the NSE, 1,337 stocks rose whereas 464 dropped.ICICI Bank, Reliance Industries and HDFC contributed the most to the gain in Sensex,
together accounting for a more than 300-point gain in the index.The NSE's India VIX index - which gauges the markets' expectation of
Asian markets rebounded with MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rising 1 per cent, reversing Wednesday's
overnight to an Iranian attack on US forces with sanctions, not violence
Iran offered no immediate signal it would retaliate further over a January 3 US strike that killed one of its senior military
commanders.Crude oil prices returned to the levels seen before the killing of Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani by the US last week
Brent futures - the global benchmark for crude oil - prices crept up from month lows hit overnight to $65.84 per barrel, about where they
began the year.Meanwhile, the government lifted restrictions on the use of coal mined domestically and eased bidding rules from March, as
mining blocks in March, Coal Minister Pralhad Joshi said after Cabinet approved the plans, a move that could end state-run Coal India's
near-monopoly of the fuel.
