Sensex, Nifty Recover From Early Losses Amid Volatile Trade

Equities around the globe rebounded as the US Congress appeared closer to passing a $2-trillion stimulus package to fight the fast-spreading COVID-19 disease.

Domestic stock markets recovered from early losses to jump more than 1 per cent amid a volatile session on Wednesday, hours after India began a 21-day countrywide lockdown to curb the spread of the deadly coronavirus pandemic. The S&P BSE Sensex index rose as much as 625.41 points to touch 27,299.44 in the first few minutes, after opening down 174.22 points at 26,499.81. The broader NSE Nifty 50 benchmark climbed to as high as 7,980.35, up 179.3 points from the previous close, after starting the session at 7,735.15. Analysts say high volatility cannot be ruled out in the near term. 

At 9:23 am, the Sensex traded 355.89 points – or 1.33 per cent – higher at 27,029.92, while the Nifty was up 169.70 points – or 2.18 per cent – at 7,970.75.

Thirty two stocks in the 50-scrip Nifty basket moved higher at the time. Top percentage gainers were Reliance Industries, Bajaj Finance, Nestle, Bajaj Finserv, Tech Mahindra, Britannia and Cipla, up between 3.11 per cent and 8.01 per cent each.

On the other hand, IndusInd Bank, Larsen & Toubro, UltraTech Cement, Titan, Bajaj Auto and Asian Paints – trading between 1.02 per cent and 4.99 per cent lower – were the top Nifty losers. 

Reliance Industries (up 8.30 per cent), HDFC Bank (2.44 per cent), HDFC (1.99 per cent) and Hindustan Unilever (2.34 per cent) were the top contributors to the gain in Sensex.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Tuesday that the government will soon announce a fiscal package to aid the economy’s fight against the outbreak, and there is “no intention of delaying such announcements”.

Equities around the globe rebounded on Wednesday as the US Congress appeared closer to passing a $2-trillion stimulus package to shield the world’s largest economy from the fast-spreading COVID-19 disease. 

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 1.3 per cent. Australian shares rose 4.5 per cent and South Korean shares gained 4.0 per cent. Japan’s Nikkei added 2.0 per cent.

Overnight in the US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average index soared 11.37 per cent in its biggest one-day percentage gain since 1933.

Analysts say investors around the globe are assessing the strength of measures brought in by policymakers against the rapidly spreading coronavirus against the rising cases of outbreak. 

On Tuesday, MSCI’s gauge of stocks across the globe had gained 8.39 per cent, marking its largest single-day gain since the wild swings seen during the height of the global financial crisis in October 2008.

The domestic market benchmarks had rebounded on Tuesday to gain some ground following their worst day ever, with the S&P BSE Sensex index ending 692.79 points – or 2.67 per cent – higher at 26,674.03  and the broader NSE Nifty 50 settling up 190.80 points – or 2.51 per cent – at 7,801.05.