Markets close on buoyant note: Sensex jumps over 483 points, Nifty tops 9,300-mark; banks, IT, pharma stocks rally

The benchmark indices closed Thursday’s trading on a positive note. The stock markets continued to witness a strong trend even after posting a sharp rally in the previous session. On Thursday, the market extended gains sharply and ended the session up 1.5 percent. Investors are accumulating banking and financial stocks which are available at an attractive valuation after the recent correction, traders said. Meanwhile, pharma stocks maintained its sustained rally amidst this global economic health crisis. The Asian markets also rebounded on Thursday as in crude prices rallied from historic lows and the promise of more US government aid to support the economy helped calm nervous markets. Sectorally, barring pharma and FMCG, all indices ended on a positive note with IT and banking stocks being the top indices gainers. Infosys, Kotak Bank, ICICI Bank and TCS were the top gainers in today’s session. [caption id=“attachment_1108927” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Nifty posts its second biggest 2-session gain in April so far. Reuters[/caption] Investors will watch closely for developments related to coronavirus, economic lockdown and oil market developments. Sumeet Bagadia, Executive Director, Choice Broking said: “The Nifty has given a positive closing for the second day in a row. At 9,313-level today, it gained 120 points and seems that the ongoing momentum may continue further. Banks, financial sector and IT stocks helped the Index to accelerate and successfully close above 9,300-level. “At present levels, the Nifty has strong support at 9,000-level, while upside resistance comes at 9,380-9,500. For BankNifty, it seems that the Index may trade between the range of 17,500 to 21,500 unless and until we get the either side breakout,” Bagadia said. The Sensex surged over 483 points on Thursday, tracking gains in IT and banking stocks as expectations of another stimulus package from the government enthused investor sentiment. The 30-share index ended 483.53 points or 1.54 per cent higher at 31,863.08. The broader NSE Nifty advanced 126.60 points, or 1.38 per cent, to settle at 9,313.90. Kotak Bank was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rallying over 8 percent, followed by TCS, Infosys, ICICI Bank, HCL Tech and ONGC. On the other hand, Titan, HUL, PowerGrid, NTPC and Nestle India were among the laggards. Deepak Jasani, Head Of Research, HDFC Securities said: “The Indian markets rallied further on Thursday after bouncing back from the lows of 8946 on Wednesday. The Nifty gained 126.6 points or 1.38 percent to close at 9,313.9. “Gains in Indian markets were led by private banking stocks as well as Information Technology stocks. Asian stock markets rose on Thursday as the combination of a rebound in crude prices from historic lows and the promise of more U.S. government aid (House of Representatives expected to clear relief on Thursday) to cushion the coronavirus-ravaged economy helped calm nervous markets. “European stocks paused on Thursday, as data (IHS Markit flash Eurozone services PMI for April fell to a record low of 11.7) revealed the coronavirus lockdowns are causing unprecedented pain to the Continent’s services sector. Technically, with the Nifty moving up further, the short term trend remains up. Further upside are likely once the immediate resistance of 9343 is taken out,” Jasani said. Indian markets opened on a positive note tracking mostly positive global markets as oil prices were seen rebounding after catastrophic falls a few days back amid some decline in volatility, said Narendra Solanki, Head- Equity Research (Fundamental), Anand Rathi to PTI. Market participants also anticipate another stimulus package from the government in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak, he added. International oil benchmark Brent crude futures rallied 8.64 per cent to $22.13 per barrel. Bourses in Hong Kong, Tokyo and Seoul ended with gains, while Shanghai closed in the red. Stock exchanges in Europe were trading on a mixed note. Traders said concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic kept investors cautious. The death in India toll due to the pandemic rose to 681, while the number of cases in the country climbed to 21,393. Global tally of the infections has crossed 26 lakh, with over 1.83 lakh deaths. Rupee surges 62 paise against dollar On the currency front, the rupee appreciated 62 paise to provisionally settle at 76.06 against the US dollar.

#CNBCTV18Market | #Rupee ends over 1-week high pic.twitter.com/7yK0v6kkKE

— CNBC-TV18 (@CNBCTV18Live) April 23, 2020

The rupee soared by 62 paise to settle at 76.06 (provisional) against the US dollar on Thursday tracking gains in domestic equities and strength in Asian currencies. Forex traders said investor sentiment strengthened after the RBI said it would undertake additional purchase of government securities through open market operations (OMO), according to a PTI report. At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened higher at 76.31 rose further to the day’’s high pf 76.00. The rupee finally settled at 76.06 against the US dollar, registering a rise of 62 paise over its previous close. On Wednesday, rupee had settled at 76.68 against the US dollar. “On a review of current and evolving liquidity and market conditions, the Reserve Bank has decided to conduct simultaneous purchase and sale of government securities under Open Market Operations (OMO) for Rs 10,000 crores each on 27 April, 2020,” the Reserve Bank said in a release. The dollar index, which gauges the greenback’’s strength against the basket of six currencies, was trading 0.08 percent up at 100.46.