• Sensex and Nifty open higher as optimism about the SVB acquisition grows

    Business
    Sensex and Nifty open higher as optimism about the SVB acquisition grows
    Eight of the 13 major sectoral indexes rose, led by the heavyweight financials index, which rose 0.3%. Metals gained 0.8% to be the top sector gainer after falling more than 2% on Friday.

    Digital Desk: Markets were relieved on Monday after reports of advanced talks for the acquisition of the failed Silicon Valley Bank, but fears of contagion in the global banking system remained.

    As of 9:53 a.m. IST, the Nifty 50 index was up 0.45% at 17,020.64. The S&P BSE Sensex advanced 0.41% to 57,772.59. The broad Asian equity indices were down.

    Eight of the 13 major sectoral indexes rose, led by the heavyweight financials index, which rose 0.3%. Metals gained 0.8% to be the top sector gainer after falling more than 2% on Friday.

    While reports of a potential acquisition of Silicon Valley Bank by First Citizens BancShares Inc eased fears of a credit crunch, authorities remained on high alert for the fallout from recent banking turmoil.

    The Federal Reserve of the United States and the European Central Bank said they are keeping a close eye on the impact of banking stress on the credit crunch after Deutsche Bank's shares plummeted following a four-year high in credit default swaps.

    Among individual Indian stocks, Phoenix Mills PHOE.NS rose nearly 6% after global brokerage firm Morgan Stanley initiated coverage with an "overweight" recommendation on the stock.

    Sun Pharma Advanced Research Company's stock dropped nearly 2% after the company said it might incur certain expenses as a result of an earlier this month IT security incident.