New Delhi: Equity benchmark indices on Wednesday (March 25) closed in the green amid expectations of fiscal measures being announced by the government. The Sensex was up 1,861.75 points or 6.98% at 28535.78, while the broader Nifty ended up 516.80 points or 6.62% at 8317.85. 


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Major gainers on the Nifty were Reliance Industries, HDFC Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Grasim Industries and UPL and top loser stocks were Yes Bank, IndusInd Bank, IOC, and Coal India. About 1194 shares advanced, 976 stocks declined, while 153 shares remain unchanged.


During the afternoon trade, equity benchmark indices ticked up by 4 per cent as Asian shares extended a rally after Wall Street`s strong rebound overnight. At 1 pm, the BSE Sensex was up by 1,175 points or 4.41 per cent to 27,849 while the Nifty 50 edged higher by 326 points or 4.17 per cent to 8,127. All sectoral indices at the National Stock Exchange were in the green with Nifty financial service gaining by 3.7 per cent, auto by 3.4 per cent and FMCG by 1.8 per cent. 


During early hours on today, equity indices fluctuated between gains and losses as the country braced up for a three-week lockdown to break the chain of deadly COVID-19 virus. At 10:15 am, the BSE Sensex was down by 36 points or 0.14 per cent to 26,638 but the Nifty 50 edged higher by 20 points or 0.25 per cent to 7,821.


All sectoral indices at the National Stock Exchange were in the negative terrain with Nifty PSU bank lower by 3.31 per cent, auto by 1.9 per cent and realty by 1.2 per cent. Among stocks, IndusInd bank swung lower by nearly 8 per cent to Rs 287.40 per share while ICICI Bank lost by 3.9 per cent and State Bank of India by 3.4 per cent. Mahindra & Mahindra dropped by 7.1 per cent, ITC by 6.1 per cent, HCL Technologies by 3.7 per cent and Asian Paints by 3.5 per cent.


However, index heavyweight Reliance Industries gained by 6.16 per cent to Rs 1,001.55 per share while FMCG major Nestle India was up by 3.8 per cent. The other prominent gainers were Grasim, Cipla, Tech Mahindra and Britannia.


Meanwhile, Asian shares extended their rally in the wake of Wall Street`s strong rally as the US Congress appeared closer to passing a two trillion dollar stimulus package to mitigate the economic blow from coronavirus pandemic. MSCI`s broadest index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan rose by 1.7 per cent and South Korean gaining 3.5 per cent while Japan`s Nikkei surged by 4.8 per cent.


European benchmark stock futures rose more than 1% in early trade but US stock futures were down 1% as the news about the deal invited profit-taking after big gains the previous day. On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average soared 11.37% on Tuesday, its biggest one-day percentage gain since 1933.


In the currency market, the dollar slipped as a greenback liquidity crunch loosened slightly. The euro traded at $1.0808 up 0.15% after four straight days of gains. The dollar stood flat at 111.16 yen, off a one-month high of 111.715 touched the previous day.


Gold changed hands at $1,610.0 per ounce retaining its gains of almost 5% on Tuesday, its biggest jump since 2008.


Oil prices bounced back as hopes for U.S. stimulus offset fears of falling global demand.


India, the world`s third largest oil consumer, ordered its 1.3 billion residents to stay home for three weeks, the latest big fuel user to announce restrictions on social movement, which have destroyed demand for gasoline and jet fuel worldwide.
The market remained pressured by a flood of supply after Saudi Arabia started a price war earlier this month, a move that dealt a crushing blow to markets already reeling from the pandemic.


US crude futures rose 4% to $24.96 per barrel. That is up about $5.5, or about 26%, from their 18-year intraday low of $19.46 touched on Friday. Still on the month, the market is down 44%.


(With Agency Inputs)