>> PM could chair Cabinet meeting on Wednesday
>> FM concerned about rising crude oil prices
>> Oil cost will determine fuel prices, says government
>> Ukraine crisis could affect India’s spending plans
>> The war could have a limited impact on the credit market
>> Automakers face soaring metal prices

Let’s take a quick look at what happened in Dalal Street today.

After four straight sessions of declines, domestic stock markets took a breather and broke the losing streak. Benchmarks were able to regain some of the lost ground and settle higher. Traders looked past Russia’s attack on Ukraine and swallowed stocks at discounted prices. However, buying was seen in the final hour of the session as the majority of the session favored the bears.

Weak global sentiment weighed on markets, but buying in IT, real estate and pharmaceutical stocks pushed indices higher. The BSE Barometer ended the session above 53,400 levels as Sensex gained almost 600 points. The index hovered around 1,225 points and ended the day just 60 points below the intraday high.

Its broader counterpart, Nifty50, advanced more than 150 points to settle a dozen points above the 16,000 mark. The index rebounded around 350 points from the day’s low as the NSE barometer slipped below the 15,675 mark.

The broader markets outperformed their major counterparts, with the BSE midcap and smallcap indexes up more than 1% each. The India VIX Fear Gauge fell sharply by around 3% but remained close to 29 levels at the close.

Only half a dozen stocks settled in the red on BSE Sensex. Tata Steel fell 2%, while Titan fell around 1%. Power Grid, Nestle, Reliance and SBI were other stocks to end the session lower.

Among the winners, Sun Pharma climbed 4%. It was followed by TCS, NTPC, Wipro, Tech Mahindra and Dr Reddy’s Labs, each of which rose 3%. Ultratech Cement, Infosys, ICICI Bank, HCL Tech, M&M and L&T added 2% each.

Only one stock tested its lower circuit limit, while none reached the upper limit. 22 stocks tested their 52-week highs during the session, while more than 70 others tested their 52-week lows.

We have Likhita Chepa from CapitalVia Global Research to share her take on the action and the road ahead:

Welcome to the show sir:
1. What led to the strong rebound in domestic stock markets?
2. Do you see opportunities in the broader markets after the correction?

We also caught up with Prabhudas Lilladher’s Vaishali Parekh to decode the technical charts for you.
1. Nifty50 managed to settle above 16,000 levels. What’s next on the cards?
2. What do you think of Nifty Bank?

Asian markets settled in with cuts for the day. Major European markets were trading decently higher in the early hours of trading. Additionally, US equity futures were up, signaling a positive start for US equities later in the day.

That’s all for the moment. Check out ETMarkets.com for all the news, market analysis, investment strategies and dozens of stock recommendations. Enjoy your evening. Bye!