Stock Market LIVE Updates: Market closed in the green for the third straight session on Thursday as the Nifty ended the March series above 8,600 level after the announcement of Rs 1.7 lakh crore relief package by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
The Sensex surged 1,410.99 points or 4.94 percent to 29,946.77 while the broader Nifty was up 323.60 points or 3.89 percent at 8641.45 at close.
IndusInd Bank was the top gainer in the Sensex pack soaring over 45 percent. The other major gainers included L&T, Bajaj Finance, Airtel, Bajaj Auto, Kotak Bank and HUL.
All the sectoral indices ended in the green. BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices rose over 3 percent each.
Sitharaman has announced some very timely relief measures to help India’s poor with the cash transfers, construction workers fund and free rice/wheat distribution, said Akhil Shahani, managing director, The Shahani Group.
"It is also good that she is supporting the true hero's of this coronavirus fight by giving Rs 50 lakh medical insurance cover to health workers. However it would have been good to see additional relief offered to the SME sector beyond 3 month support for the EPF. Many SMEs are struggling to pay salaries and debt interest with no income, an announcement on a moratorium on loan interest payments for a couple of months or a reduction in the loan interest rates charged by banks could have been beneficial," he said.
Also, there could have been a 3 month moratorium on GST collections. A concern also arises as to how the Centre will support this additional burden on its annual Budget, he added.
Market lost its sheen as Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman unveiled Rs 1.7 lakh crore relief package for the country.
Sensex slipped below 30,000-mark while the Nifty was trading above 8,600-level.
Sensex jumped 1258.04 points or 4.41 percent to 29,793.82 and Nifty jumped 284.85 points or 3.42 percent to 8,602.70.
Market staged a comeback after reports of Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s press conference at 1 pm today.
It is expected that the Centre would announce a much-needed stimulus package in the wake of coronavirus outbreak and subsequent national lockdown for 21 days.
Sensex zoomed 1231.51 points or 4.32 percent to 29,767.29 while Nifty was up 326.45 points or 3.92 percent to 8,644.30 at around 11.50 AM.
The market failed to retain its early morning rally and slipped from the day’s high.
Sensex surged 999.21 points or 3.50 percent to 29,534.99 while Nifty was up 283.60 points or 3.41 percent to 8,601.45 at around 11.30 AM.
The bull run continued on Dalal Street in the morning trade on Thursday as Sensex surged 1528.81 points or 5.36 percent to 30,064.59 while Nifty was up 425.40 points or 5.11 percent to 8,743.25 at around 10.20 AM.
IndusInd Bank was the top gainer in the Sensex pack zooming over 30 percent while Axis Bank surged over 13 percent.
The Sensex jumped 683.06 points or 2.39 percent to 29,218.84 while Nifty was up 195.05 points or 2.34 percent to 8,512.90 at around 9.30 AM.
IndusInd Bank was the top gainer in the Sensex pack zooming nearly 15 percent. Other gainers included Axis Bank, Infosys, HDFC, Tech Mahindra, HCL Tech, Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Auto and ICICI Bank.
Sensex up 300 points, Nifty opens above 8,400-level in opening trade; Rupee opens flat
Benchmark indices are trading higher in the pre-opening session with Nifty above 8400.
At 09:01 hrs IST, the Sensex is up 754.68 points or 2.64% at 29290.46, and the Nifty up 84.30 points or 1.01% at 8402.15.
Singapore: Asian stock markets made a cautious start on Thursday following two days of rallies, as investors await the passage and details of a $2 trillion stimulus package in the United States to combat the economic fallout from the coronavirus.
Senate leaders hope to vote on the plan later on Wednesday in Washington, but it still faces criticism. The bill includes a $500 billion fund to help hard-hit industries and a comparable amount for payments up to $3,000 to millions of US families.
It cannot come soon enough, with potentially enormous weekly US initial jobless claims to appear in data due at 1230 GMT.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index rose 1.5 percent in early trade—its third positive start in as many sessions, but also its most muted. Japan’s Nikkei fell 2.2%.
Hong Kong futures were 1 percent higher and China A50 futures were up 0.2 percent. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.3 percent.
“There has been so much stimulus thrown at this,” said Jun Bei Liu, portfolio manager at Tribeca Investment Partners in Sydney. “But the positivity related to it is really just sentiment,” she said, adding that investors were largely flying blind with so many companies withdrawing earnings guidance. Jobless figures may offer a “reality check,” she said.
In perhaps an early sign of the fragile mood, the risk-sensitive Australian dollar dropped 1 percent and the safe-haven Japanese yen rose in morning trade.
US stock futures rose 1 percent, following the first back-to-back session rises on Wall Street in over a month.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 2.4 percent and the S&P 500 1.2 percent, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped half a percent following a Nikkei report that Apple was weighing a delay in the launch of its 5G iPhone.
Jobless claims to test bounce
The money at stake in the stimulus bill amounts to nearly half of the $4.7 trillion the US government spends annually.
But it also comes against a backdrop of bad news as the coronavirus spreads and as jobless claims are set to soar, with both expected to test the nascent bounce in markets this week.
California Governor Gavin Newsom told reporters on Wednesday that a million Californians had already applied for jobless benefits this month - a number that knocked stocks from session highs and has analysts bracing for worse to come.
RBC Capital Markets economists had expected a national figure over 1 million in Thursday’s data, but say “it is now poised to be many multiples of that,” as reduced hours across the country drive deep layoffs.
“Something in the 5-10 million range for initial jobless claims is quite likely,” they wrote in a note.
That compares to a 695,000 peak in 1982. Forecasts in a Reuters poll range from a minimum of 250,000 initial claims, all the way up to 4 million.
Trepidation seemed to put a halt on the US dollar’s recent softness in currency markets, with the dollar ahead 1 percent against the Antipodean currencies and up 0.6% against the pound.
It slipped 0.3 percent to 110.85 yen.
US crude slipped 1.5 percent to $24.11 per barrel and gold steadied at $1,608.14 per ounce.
