Markets extend gains: Sensex up 371 points, Nifty closes near 9,400-mark; IndusInd Bank jumps 17%

The stock markets continued their strong trend amidst positive global cues as governments across the world started easing economic lockdown. The Sensex ended above 1 percent for the second consecutive session. However, the rally was mainly driven by banking and financial stocks while the market favorite pharma stocks witnessed a sharp downfall. IndusInd bank surged by 17 percent post-management relieved investor concerns over financials. Investors have now turned focus towards Axis Bank which is scheduled to announce Q4 FY20 results and discuss about Max Life Insurance deal in the evening. Extending its gains for the second session, equity benchmark Sensex jumped 371 points on Tuesday driven by aggressive buying in financial stocks amid hopes of another stimulus package by the government.

#MarketAtClose | Financials lead market higher, Sensex & Nifty end at 7-week highs; Nifty gains 99 points to 9,381 & Sensex 371 points t0 32,115 pic.twitter.com/uHwFqQHwGV

— CNBC-TV18 (@CNBCTV18Live) April 28, 2020

After a volatile session, the 30-share BSE gauge settled 371.44 points or 1.17 percent higher at 32,114.52. It hit an intra-day high of 32,199.91 and a low of 31,661.34. Similarly, the NSE Nifty advanced 98.60 points, or 1.06 percent, to close at 9,380.90. Abhishek A Rastogi, Partner, Khaitan & Co said: “The markets showed positive sentiments and as expected there was huge buying in the banking and financial sector. Policy decisions by the top Federal and Central Banks throughout the globe are watched very closely by the investors. Oil prices could not gain upward momentum on skepticism of demand based on storage capacity and consumption. “The markets performed well as not only was there a lot of buying, but also the government is constantly acting in different areas and sectors in these tough situations.  A clear policy to support businesses and the MSME sector is the hope in the weeks ahead,” Rastogi said. IndusInd Bank was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rallying over 15 percent, followed by Bajaj Finance, HDFC, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, M&M and SBI. [caption id=“attachment_7138411” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. Reuters.[/caption] Reliance Industries Ltd shares rose as much as 1.8 percent in early trade when the company announced it will consider a rights issue at its board meeting on 30 April. This would be its first such issue in nearly three decades, the oil to retail conglomerate said in an exchange filing late on Monday. On the other hand, Sun Pharma, Nestle India, NTPC, HCL Tech and Bajaj Auto were among the laggards. Sumeet Bagadia, Executive Director, Choice Broking said: “Finally, the index gave its close above 9,400-level, a level which proved a strong resistance in the past. This suggests a good movement in the Index in the upcoming trading sessions. Moreover, the Index has been trading above its 21 Days Moving Average which shows a positive trend for the time being. “During the trading session today, we saw a good move in large cap constituents based on which the Nifty managed to climb above 9,400-level which further suggests a positive march. At the present level, the index has strong resistance at 9,625 while downside good support comes at 9,260-level,” Bagadia said. The Reserve Bank of India’s massive liquidity booster to the mutual fund industry continued to spur buying in financial stocks, traders said. Expectation of another stimulus package by the government has also buoyed investor sentiment, they added. Paras Bothra, President of Equity Research, Ashika Stock Broking, said: “The markets were indecisive in the early hours, although eventually ended higher led by positive global cues with reports of slowdown in coronavirus infections globally. Besides, there is a growing anticipation that the government will only nod for extension of lockdown beyond May 3rd only in districts which are in red zone and not nationwide,” he said. Bourses in Hong Kong and Seoul ended on a positive note, while Shanghai and Tokyo settled in the red. Stock exchanges in Europe were trading significantly higher in early deals. International oil benchmark Brent crude futures advanced 1.95 per cent to $23.52 per barrel. Rupee settles 7 paise higher at 76.18 against dollar On the currency front, the rupee rose by 7 paise to provisionally close at 76.18 against the US dollar. The Indian rupee rose by 7 paise to close at 76.18 (provisional) against the US dollar on Tuesday, tracking positive domestic equities and a weak American currency in the overseas market. This is the second consecutive day of gain for the rupee, during which it has appreciated by 28 paise, a PTI report said. At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 76.33. During the session it touched an intra-day high of 76.14 and a low of 76.44. The domestic unit finally settled at 76.18, registering a rise of 7 paise over its previous close. On Monday, the local unit had settled at 76.25 against the US dollar. The dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies was trading 0.20 percent down at 99.84. “Today is the USD/INR April contract expiry on exchange. This April contract had been trading 40p above OTC and though a lot of longs have been rolled over, the Open Interest in the April contract is still USD 2bn. We may see buying at RBI fix today in OTC as positions get squared off on exchange,” said Abhishek Goenka, Founder and CEO, IFA Global to PTI. Meanwhile, the global tally of coronavirus infections has crossed 30 lakh, with over 2.11 lakh deaths. Death toll from COVID-19 in India rose to 934, while total number of cases climbed to 29,435, as per health ministry data. --With inputs from agencies