Sensex rallies 606 points to end at 32,720, Nifty surges 172 points to 9,553; all indices except pharma, FMCG in green

The benchmark equity indices on Wednesday rose for the third day in a row, its best winning streak in a month. Extending its gains for the third session, equity benchmark Sensex rallied 606 points on Wednesday, buoyed by banking and IT stocks amid positive cues from global markets. The market witnessed another strong session with the gain of over 1.5 percent. Strong buying continued in the financial and big private banks as the investors are focusing on long-term fundamentals and shrugging off the near term impact of COVID-19. However, some profit booking was seen in the last leg of trade but market managed to end session at firm gain. Sectorally all indices ended in green except pharma and FMCG. Metal index was up by 3.8 percent led by the gains in Hindalco Industries and SAIL. On stock specific, Hindalco, Adani Ports and HDFC lead the gains and HUL, Axis Bank and Asian Paints remained the top laggards in the today’s session. Going ahead market is likely to trade volatile due to key announcements on lockdown restrictions and development of coronavirus cases. Deepak Jasani, Head Of Research, HDFC Securities said, “Asia Pacific stocks (MSCI Asia Pacific Index) have finally risen more than 20 percent from their recent lows making it one of the last major regional gauges to enter a bull market, weeks after those in the US, Europe, Southeast Asia and Latin America. A lack of major negatives keeps Asian equities cheer hopes of the economic restart. European stock markets struggled for traction on Wednesday, as a mostly downbeat batch of earnings rolled out and investors waited for the outcome of a Federal Reserve meeting later. “Technically, with the Nifty moving up further, the short-term trend remains up. Further upsides are likely once the immediate resistance of 9,600 is taken out. Crucial support to watch for is resumption of weakness is at 9,490,” he said. Sumeet Bagadia, Executive Director, Choice Broking, said: “The Nifty closed above 9,500-mark with HDFC Bank, HDFC, Infosys as top gainers. All sectorial indices barring the FMCG index weree trading in the green with the metal index jumping over 3 percent. Technically, the index has given major resistance at breakout of 9,500-level and made an intraday high at 9598.85-level which points out to the strength in the index. Furthermore, the index has been sustaining above 21 and 50 HMA which is a bullish sign. At the present level, the index is having a good support zone at 9,350-level with a resistance at 9,640-levels,” Bagadia said. [caption id=“attachment_4428589” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Stock brokers. Representational image. Reuters.[/caption] Investor sentiment improved on hopes that gradual lifting of lockdowns across the world would help start economic recovery, traders said. After surging 783.07 points during the day, the 30-share BSE index ended 605.64 points or 1.89 percent higher at 32,720.16. Similarly, the NSE Nifty advanced 172.45 points, or 1.84 percent, to close at 9,553.35. HDFC was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rallying over 7 percent, followed by HCL Tech, M&M, HDFC Bank, Tata Steel, SBI, Bajaj Finance and Infosys. Indian markets opened on positive note taking positive cues from its Asian peers and ahead of U S Federal Reserve’s decision on interest rates amid ongoing coronavirus pandemic, said Narendra Solanki, Head- Equity Research (Fundamental), Anand Rathi to PTI. “The Indian benchmarks extended their gains in late afternoon session as traders also took encouragement from reports of Finance Minister’s likely announcement of larger stimulus package for the economy, which also led to some short covering in heavily negative sectors like financials ahead of monthly expiry on Thursday,” he said. Bullish signs were clearly evident and the near future would depend on how the Government will address the problem of lockdown, said Abhishek A Rastogi, Partner, Khaitan & Co. “Few structural timely measures and innovative initiatives will clearly keep the markets robust. In case the Government looks to get certain sectors back to normalcy through technology progression, the investors will have the uplift of the mood. For instance, the virtual hearings at all levels from the first adjudication authority till the Supreme Court will make lots of difference,” he said. Rupee settles 52 paise higher at 75.66 against dollar The Indian rupee surged 52 paise to close at 75.66 (provisional) against the US dollar on Wednesday, tracking positive domestic equities and a weak American currency in the overseas market. This is the third consecutive day of gain for the rupee, during which it has appreciated by 80 paise, PTI said. At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 75.94. During the session it touched an intra-day high of 75.60 and a low of 75.96.

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The domestic unit finally settled at 75.66, registering a rise of 52 paise over its previous close. On Tuesday, the local unit had settled at 76.18 against the US dollar. Forex traders said positive start of domestic stocks supported the local unit. Besides, market sentiments improved as more countries are announcing gradual lifting of lockdowns that have been imposed to contain coronavirus infection. The dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.28 percent down at 99.58. --With inputs from agencies