Mumbai, April 8 (IANS) Dalal Street witnessed a major relief on Wednesday, with equity benchmarks opening sharply higher, jumping more than 3 per cent each after the announcement of a two-week ceasefire in the US-Israel-Iran conflict by both sides.

Sensex climbed as much as 3.71 per cent or 2,775 points to 77,392, hitting an intra-day high in early trade. Similarly, Nifty traded at 23,938, up 3.52 per cent or 815 points, from the previous close amid buying in auto, realty, banking, IT, and metal sector stocks.

All sectors witnessed a bounce-back and traded in the green. Sector-wise, real estate, auto, banking and pharma stocks traded up to 6 per cent higher.

Category-wise, smallcap and midcap indices were the top gainers, while largecaps also traded higher. Meanwhile, India VIX declined 19 per cent.

In addition, traders and investors will track the Reserve Bank of India’s MPC outcome later in the day.

On Tuesday, FIIs remained net sellers to the tune of approximately Rs 8,692 crore, while DIIs continued their strong buying, with inflows of around Rs 7,980 crore.

According to analysts, volatility is likely to persist amid ongoing geopolitical concerns and continued foreign fund outflows.

“Traders are advised to adopt a buy-on-dips or stock-specific approach, while maintaining strict risk management. Key sectors to watch include IT, banking, and oil-sensitive stocks, as volatility and global cues are likely to drive market direction in the near term,” the analysts said.

US President Donald Trump stated that “subject to Iran agreeing to the complete, immediate, and safe opening of the Strait of Hormuz, I agree to suspend the bombing and attack of Iran for two weeks. This will be a double-sided ceasefire.

Globally, Asian and US markets showed positive trends.

In Asian markets, the Nikkei advanced 5.60 per cent, the Hang Seng traded 3.08 per cent higher, and the KOSPI was up 6.36 per cent at intraday highs as of around 9:10 am.

Wall Street ended on a flat note, with the S&P 500 closing at 6,616, up 0.08 per cent or 5 points, while the Nasdaq settled 0.03 per cent, or 5.59 points, lower at 21,990.

In contrast, oil commodities traded at substantially lower levels, declining over 15 per cent. Brent crude futures plummeted 15.91 per cent, or $17.39, to $91.88, hitting an intraday low, while US WTI crude fell about 20 per cent, or $21.90, to $91.05.

–IANS

ag/na