MARKET WRAP: Financials lift indices; Sensex up 622 pts; Nifty above 9,050

All that happened in the markets today

Photo: Kamlesh Pednekar

Benchmark indices ended over 2 per cent higher on Wednesday amid buying in financial stocks such as HDFC and HDFC Bank. Further, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman's statement that the government was with industry and would do as much as possible to repair the damage when companies were going through the most stressful time, also boosted sentiment.

The S&P BSE Sensex rallied an impressive 622 points or over 2 per cent to 30,819 levels, with HDFC (up over 5.5 per cent) being the top gainer. Other top index gainers included Mahindra & Mahindra (up over 5 per cent), L&T (up 5 per cent), and Tata Steel (up 4 per cent).

NSE's Nifty ended above 9,050 levels at 9,066.55 points, up 187 points or over 2 per cent. Volatility index, India VIX, saw a sharp drop of 10 per cent at 35.59.

Sectorally, all the indices on the NSE ended in the green. Nifty Pharma topped the list with over 4 per cent gains at 9,456.80 levels. Nifty Bank and Nifty Private Bank gained 2 per cent each.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE MidCap index climbed around 1.5 per cent to 11,278 while the S&P BSE SmallCap added over 1 per cent to 10,472.

Buzzing stocks

Shares of Reliance Industries – Rights Entitlement (RIL-REL) moved higher by up to 36 per cent to Rs 211.95 level on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) on the first day of its trading. The stock opened at Rs 158.05 and hit an intra-day low of Rs 152 on the exchange. READ MORE

The market capitalisation (m-cap) of Avenue Supermarts, which runs the DMart chain of stores, crossed the packaged consumer goods company Nestle India today. READ MORE

Shares of Larsen & Toubro (L&T) Infotech rallied 7 per cent after the company posted revenue growth of 4.7 per cent in constant currency (CC) terms on sequential basis in March quarter results. In rupee terms, the firm's revenue during the quarter under review grew up 7.1 per cent quarter on quarter (QoQ) at Rs 3,012 crore while consolidated net profit rose 13 per cent year-on-year to Rs 427.5 crore. READ MORE

Global markets

Asian stocks struggled to extend the week’s rally on Wednesday, and gold and bonds firmed, as a sceptical press report dented some hopes for a Covid-19 vaccine and concerns about the global recovery from the pandemic returned. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was flat. Stocks in Hong Kong and China idled were also flat as investors wait to hear the government's economic plans, due to be announced during the annual gathering of parliament beginning on Friday. Japan's Nikkei rose 1 per cent.

In Europe, stocks slipped. Europe’s STOXX 600 index was 1.6 per cent lower. The blue-chip FTSE 100 was down 0.4 per cent as Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc shed 0.8 per cent after it said it would cut 9,000 jobs and might close some of its factories.

In commodities, oil prices rose amid signs of improving demand and a drawdown in US crude inventories but worries over the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic capped gains.

(With inputs from Reuters)

4:19 PM

MARKET COMMENT | Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services

Benchmark indices closed up by more than 2%, inspite of mixed global cues and unabated increase in number of infections across India. All the major sectoral indices traded positive with the volatility index also decreasing by around 10%. The government cabinet approvals of some of the proposed measures and leaving the door open for further stimulus measures could also have played a part in the positivity. Investors advised to remain cautious.

3:48 PM

SECTOR WATCH | Nifty Pharma jumps over 4%

3:45 PM

MARKET AT CLOSE | Gainers and losers on the S&P BSE Sensex

3:36 PM

CLOSING BELL

The S&P BSE Sensex jumped 622 points or over 2 per cent to 30,819 while NSE's Nifty ended at 9066.55, up 187 points or 2.11 per cent.

3:28 PM

MARKET CHECK

3:24 PM

Index Gainers | Tata Steel up over 4%

3:15 PM

Avenue Supermarts hits 5% upper circuit, surpasses Nestle India in m-cap

The market capitalisation (m-cap) of Avenue Supermarts, which runs the DMart chain of stores, crossed the packaged consumer goods company Nestle India on Wednesday. At 02:26 pm, shares of Avenue Supermarts were locked in the upper circuit of 5 per cent at Rs 2,453, with m-cap standing at Rs 1.59 trillion on the BSE. A combined around 375,000 shares changed hands and there were pending buy orders for 13,500 shares on the NSE and BSE. READ MORE

3:07 PM

SECTOR UPDATE :: Nifty Pharma index up 4%

>> Aurobindo Pharma hits 52-week high, Dr Reddy's up 5% post healthy March quarter results

3:02 PM

Stocks that hit their respective 52-week lows in an otherwise strong market today

COMPANY	PRICE(rs)	52 WK LOW	CHG(%)
ARVIND FASHIONS.	113.05	110.55	-7.15
BANK OF BARODA	36.90	36.05	1.10
CHALET HOTELS	102.70	101.65	-1.30
CHOLA FINANCIAL	231.15	227.90	-0.84
D B CORP	60.00	59.05	0.08

» More on 52 Week Low

2:59 PM

NEWS ALERT :: JSW Energy puts GMR Kamalanga asset acquisition on hold

>> The transaction has been put on hold given the ongoing uncertainty and will be revisited once the situation normalizes

>> Says, In the short term, volumes and tariffs at merchant markets are expected to be adversely impacted

>> Q4 performance: Net profit at Rs 108.4 cr, up 4% YoY; Net revenue at Rs 1,793.3 cr, down 6.8% YoY

(As reported by CNBC TV18)

2:49 PM

Covid-19 crisis: Govt considers regulating air-ticket prices after lockdown

The government is considering temporarily setting caps and floors on airfares once air transport resumes after the lockdown, in a bid to “protect both consumers and airlines”, officials aware of the matter said.

The civil aviation ministry, which has started discussions on the process, feels that it is important to ensure tickets don’t become very expensive, and to prevent predatory pricing from hurting the financial viability of airlines. READ MORE