Markets end in green: Sensex rises over 230 points on gains in banking, finance, auto stocks; Nifty finishes at 9,270-mark

The markets ended in green with a gain of 0.7 percent after the last two sessions of brutal sell-off. Domestic equity benchmarks opened the session in red continuing with yesterday weakness, but recovered in the first hour of trading session today.

#MarketAtClose | Market closes with gains amid volatility; financials outperform.#Nifty ends with a gain of 65 points at 9,271 after trading in 230-point range. #Sensex gains 232 points to 31,686 after trading in the range of 812 points. pic.twitter.com/QRaaQZFwBV

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Sensex ended 232 points higher after a see-saw session on Wednesday, led by gains in banking, finance and auto stocks despite rising concerns over the country’s economic outlook as COVID-19 cases spike. After swinging over 800 points during the day, the 30-share index closed 232.24 points or 0.74 percent higher at 31,685.75. On similar lines, the NSE Nifty rose 65.30 points, or 0.71 percent, to finish at 9,270.90. The gains were led by buying in auto and banking stocks. Meanwhile, services PMI reduced to a historical low level of 5.4 in April from 49.3 in March. Oil marketing companies’ shares fell sharply today after the centre increased the excise duty on petrol and diesel. [caption id=“attachment_4428589” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Stock brokers. Representational image. Reuters.[/caption] Sectorally, all indices ended in green except FMCG and PSU bank stocks while banking and auto indices shine in today’s session. Stock-wise Bajaj Finance, M&M, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and GAIL were among the top gainers while Coal India, Bharti Infratel and ITC were the top laggards. Investors are watching the govt’s actions to combat coronavirus impact and global events like the US China relationship. M&M was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rallying over 5 percent, followed by Bajaj Finance, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Bharti Airtel and Hero MotoCorp. On the other hand, ITC cracked over 5 percent. HUL, TCS, Titan and Infosys too ended in the red. Sumeet Bagadia, Executive Director, Choice Broking said, “Overall it was a good day as the Index settled its movement with 65 points in plus at 9,270-level. We saw a muted opening however,but post-that the Index recovered well and made an intraday high. Today, again the Index took the support of its 21 Days Moving Average which was placed at 9,100 from where there was a good recovery in the Nifty. At present levels, the index has strong resistance at 9,450 while in the downside, good support comes at 9,130-9,100 level,” he said. Deepak Jasani, Head Retail Research, HDFC Securities said, “In India, the Nikkei/IHS Markit Services Purchasing Managers’ Index plunged to an eye-popping 5.4 in April from March’s 49.3, an unprecedented contraction since the survey first began over 14 years ago. The composite PMI came in at an all-time low of 7.2 in April from March’s 50.6. Historical comparisons of the index with GDP suggest the economy contracted at an annual rate of 15 percent in April. “The European Union’s economy is set to shrink by 7.4 percent this year (vs earlier forecast of 1.2 percent growth and minus 4.5 percent in 2009 recession), investment is expected to collapse and unemployment rates, debts and deficits will balloon in the brutal aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic, the European Commission said on Wednesday. “Technically, while the Nifty has bounced back, the underlying short-term trend remains down. Further downsides are likely once the immediate support of 9,117 is broken. Any pullback rallies could find resistances at 9,347-9,450,” Jasani said. Rupee settles 9 paise lower at 75.72 against US dollar The rupee depreciated 9 paise to close at 75.72 against the US dollar on Wednesday, following a strong American currency overseas and fears of a renewed trade war between the US and China. Forex traders said the weakness in the rupee was largely due to the strengthening of the US dollar and sustained foreign fund outflows. Moreover, rising coronavirus cases in the country also weighed on the local unit. Rupee opened weak at 75.77 at the interbank forex market and then pared some losses to finally settle at 75.72, down 9 paise over its last close. It had settled at 75.63 against the US dollar on Tuesday. “The risk tone has been tepid and will remain like that on renewed US-China spat. The trade war can reignite going ahead and prop up the safe haven dollar demand. “Also, coronavirus cases are increasing, stocking fears of second wave of infection. Locally, there are concerns over macros, due to the extension in lockdown, India’s GDP is expected to fall near 1 percent. While, market is eagerly waiting for more stimulus measures from the government,” said Rahul Gupta, Head of Research- Currency, Emkay Global Financial Services to PTI. Foreign institutional investors remained net sellers in the capital market, as they sold equity shares worth Rs 1,059.39 crore on Tuesday, according to provisional exchange data. The dollar index, which gauges the greenback’’s strength against a basket of six currencies, rose by 0.40 percent to 100.1.   --With inputs from agencies