Sensex surges over 500 points, Nifty above 9,400-mark in opening trade; RIL, HDFC, ICICI Bank among early gainers

Equities rebounded on Tuesday, led by a jump in beaten-down banking stocks, as Asian markets tracked Wall Street higher after governments eased coronavirus lockdowns. Sensex surged over 500 points in opening trade on Tuesday led by gains in index-heavyweights Reliance Industries, HDFC duo and ICICI Bank amid thin trade in Asian markets. After hitting a high of 32,264, the 30-share index was trading 431.74 points or 1.36 percent higher at 32,147.09, and the NSE Nifty rose 114.25 points, or 1.23 per cent, to 9,407.75. ONGC was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rallying over 5 percent, followed by M&M, Bharti Airtel, IndusInd Bank, ICICI Bank, PowerGrid and Tech Mahindra. On the other hand, Asian Paints, Titan and Ultratech Cement were the laggards. [caption id=“attachment_4428589” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Stock brokers. Representational image. Reuters.[/caption] In the previous session, the BSE barometer settled at 31,715.35, plunging 2,002.27 points, or 5.94 percent. The broader Nifty suffered a heavy loss of 566.40 points, or 5.74 percent, to close at 9,293.50. Foreign portfolio investors were net sellers in the capital market on Monday, as they offloaded equity shares worth Rs 1,373.98 crore, according to provisional exchange data. According to traders, the market recovered from Monday’s lows as stock-specific action lifted key indices. Positive cues from global markets, despite thin trade in Asia, buoyed market mood, they said. Bourses in Hong Kong were trading on a positive note, while those in Shanghai, Tokyo and Seoul were closed for a holiday. Stock exchanges on Wall Street closed with gains in overnight session. Rupee rises 15 paise The rupee appreciated by 15 paise to 75.58 against the US dollar in early trade on Tuesday tracking positive opening of domestic equities and weakness in the American currency. Forex traders said a positive start of domestic stocks supported the local unit, while sustained foreign fund outflows and concerns over coronavirus outbreak weighed on the local unit. At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 75.62, then gained ground to touch 75.58, registering a rise of 15 paise over its previous close. On Monday, the rupee had settled at 75.73 against the US dollar.

#Rupee opens slightly higher against the US Dollar pic.twitter.com/QFtfRrcups

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The dollar index, which gauges the greenback’’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.01 percent down at 99.47. Traders said investor sentiments remained fragile amid concerns over the impact of coronavirus outbreak on the domestic as well as global economy. In India, the death toll due to COVID-19 rose to 1,568 and the number of cases climbed to 46,433 on Tuesday, according to the health ministry. The number of cases around the world linked to the disease has crossed over 35.84 lakh and the death toll has topped 2.51 lakh. Meanwhile, foreign institutional investors were net sellers in the capital market, as they sold equity shares worth Rs 1,373.98 crore on Monday, according to provisional exchange data. Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, rose 4.60 percent to $28.45 per barrel. Crude prices up Oil prices climbed in early trade on Tuesday, adding to gains in the previous session, on expectations that fuel demand will begin to pick up as some US states and nations in Europe and Asia start to ease coronavirus lockdown measures. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose as much as 8.2 percent to a three-week high of $22.06 and were up 7.6 percent, or $1.55, at $21.94. The US benchmark is on a five-day win streak that started on 29 April. Brent crude futures hit a high of $28.37 a barrel in early trade and were up 4.1 percent, or $1.12 cents, at $28.32. Brent is up for a sixth straight day. International oil benchmark Brent crude futures were trading 3.86 percent higher at $28.25 per barrel --With inputs from agencies