Sensex up 415.86 points, Nifty ends at 9282.30; IndusInd Bank, Britannia Industries, Bajaj Finserv major gainers

Image courtesy: Reuters

New Delhi: Equity benchmark indices on Monday (April 27) closed in green with the Sensex up 415.86 points or 1.33% at 31743.08, while the broader Nifty ended higher 127.90 points or 1.40% at 9282.30. Major gainers on the Nifty included IndusInd Bank, Britannia Industries, Bajaj Finserv, and Axis Bank while NTPC, HDFC Bank, M&M, Dr Reddy’s Labs, and Grasim were the laggards.

All the sectoral indices today ended higher led by the bank, IT, auto and FMCG. 

Equity benchmark indices today opened in the green amid positive cues from global markets. The Sensex hit a high of 31,977.82, and was trading 632.65 points or 2.02 per cent higher at 31,959.87, while the NSE Nifty jumped 174.20 points, or 1.90 per cent, to 9,328.60. 

Among the top gainer was Bajaj Auto in the Sensex pack, rallying over 4 per cent, followed by Sun Pharma, IndusInd Bank, Maruti, HDFC, Axis Bank, Reliance Industries and Kotak Bank, while NTPC, PowerGrid, and Asian Paints were the laggards.

In the previous session, the BSE barometer settled 535.86 points or 1.68 per cent down at 31,327.22, while the NSE Nifty declined 159.50 points, or 1.71 per cent, to 9,154.40.

Foreign portfolio investors were net sellers in the capital market on Friday, as they offloaded equity shares worth Rs 207.29 crore, according to provisional exchange data.

Meanwhile, Asian stock markets today gained after Japan's central bank promised more asset purchases to shore up financial markets, and more governments prepared to revive struggling economies by reopening businesses. Tokyo's benchmark surged 2.8 per cent and Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Sydney also gained.

Investors are looking ahead to meetings of US and European central bankers this week for additional measures to reverse the deepest global slump since the 1930s. That comes amid mounting evidence the coronavirus pandemic's economic damage is even worse than expected.

The Bank of Japan said it will buy an additional 15 trillion yen (USD 140 billion) of commercial paper and bank loans.

The US Federal Reserve, however, is more likely to announce it will wait to see the impact of earlier stimulus before taking more action, Hayaki Narita of Mizuho Bank said in a report. 

China's government, however, reported profits at major industrial companies shrank 34.9 per cent in March over a year earlier. That was an improvement over the 38.3 per cent decline in January and February, but analysts said a full recovery is a long way off.

This week's other potentially market-moving events include data from the United States, China, Japan, Germany and France on inflation, trade, industrial activity, and retail spending.

The Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.7 per cent to 2,827.50 while the Nikkei 225 in Tokyo rose to 19,803.99. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong added 1.8 per cent to 24,270.61. In Seoul, the Kospi was 2.1 per cent higher at 1,928.23. 

Sydney's S&P-ASX 200 gained 0.7 per cent to 5,278.30 and India's Sensex opened up 2 per cent at 31,970.09. Singapore advanced 1.3 per cent and Bangkok was up 0.6 per cent.

Investors appear to be looking past the outbreak to figure out which companies can survive and prosper after conditions improve.

Spain plans to start easing restrictions Sunday and Italy on May 4. France will announce its plans next month.

President Donald Trump, campaigning for re-election, is pressing state governors to ease anti-disease controls as early as possible. Some governors are lifting shutdown orders despite warnings that could cause a surge in infections.

Last weem, Wall Street ended higher after Trump signed legislation to provide an additional USD 500 billion in virus aid, including loans to small businesses.

US government data showed an unexpectedly sharp 14.4 per cent drop in durable goods orders. That added to grim numbers that are denting investor sentiment, which economists have warned is far too optimistic.

The S&P 500 Index gained 1.4 per cent to 2,836.74. The US benchmark is down 16.2 per cent from its February record. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.1 per cent to 23,775.25. The Nasdaq composite added 1.7 per cent to 8,634.52.

They are due to get more indicators how that future might develop when companies including Exxon, Amazon, Microsoft, Boeing, and McDonald's start reporting quarterly results this week.

In energy markets, benchmark US crude for June delivery lost USD 1.76 cents to USD 15.20 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose 2.7 per cent on Friday to settle at USD 16.94.

Brent crude, used to price international oils, declined 88 cents to USD 23.93 per barrel in London. It added 0.5 per cent the previous session to USD 21.44 per barrel. The dollar declined to 107.27 yen from Friday's 107.49 yen. The euro gained to USD 1.0847 from USD 1.0823. 

(With Agency Inputs)