Investors bag Rs 19 lakh crore as Sensex up 5,000 pts in 8 sessions

New Delhi: After a sharp decline after the war broke out between Russia and Ukraine, the Indian equity benchmark Sensex has risen over 5,000 points in the past eight trading sessions - since March 8.

During the same time period, Nifty rose over 1,400 points.

Some moderation in internal commodity prices -- including crude oil -- had pushed investors to make a comeback in the markets.

After hitting a 14-year high of $130 in early March, international crude oil prices are currently hovering around $108, which led to volatility in the financial markets abating a bit.

As a result of the recent rise, equity investors become wealthier by more than Rs 19 lakh crore as the BSE market capitalisation has gone up to Rs 260 lakh crore from Rs 241 lakh crore on March 7.

"FPIs are turning buyers after a long time and softness in crude will support the (Indian) market. There is upward potential in financials, particularly in high quality private banks in which FPIs were sustained sellers," said V.K. Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services.

Further, the valuations of Indian markets having moderated, geopolitical tensions subsiding, and with more clarity on the timeline for policy rate hikes by the US Federal Reserve, the volatility in the markets is expected to abate, said brokerage house Samco Securities in a note.

The US Federal Reserve on Wednesday raised its benchmark policy rate by 25 basis points to check rising inflation in the country.

Investors would now await to see whether the RBI joins the chorus in its next bi-monthly monetary policy meeting to be held in April.