Sensex rises 500 points on ease in lockdown measures, firm global cues; Nifty tops 10,100

NEW DELHI: Buoyed by the gradual opening up of the economy and strong global cues, investors kept lapping up equities on Dalal Street on Wednesday even as research agencies projected gloomy economic outlook.

India will not just battle a sharp rise in virus cases but also demand destruction of unprecedented levels, said Sonal Varma, MD and Chief Economist (India and Asia ex-Japan), Nomura.

At 9.25 am, BSE flagship Sensex was up 497 points or 1.47 per cent at 34,324, led higher by gains in banking and financial stocks. NSE benchmark Nifty advanced 154.75 points or 1.55 per cent to 10,133. The 50-share pack traded above the 10,100-mark for the first time since March 13.


In the 30-share pack Sensex, Bajaj Finance continued its stellar run, topping the leaderboard with a jump of 5 per cent to Rs 2,462.40, while private bank trio of ICICI Bank, Axis Bank and IndusInd Bank added 3-5 per cent.

Bharti Airtel was the biggest loser in the pack, down 0.65 per cent followed by HCL Tech and HUL that dropped marginally.

Broader market indices were faring in-line with their headline peers as Nifty Smallcap added 1.84 per cent while Nifty Midcap gained 1.33 per cent. Broadest index on NSE, Nifty 500 was up 1.49 per cent.

All sectoral indices on NSE were trading with gains. Nifty Private Bank was the biggest gainer, up 3.46 per cent followed by Nifty PSU Bank and Nifty Financial Services that added over 3 per cent each.

Globally, Asian shares vaulted to a near three-month high as hopes of more stimulus and further easing in social restrictions around the world outweighed caution over a host of worries from the coronavirus to growing US civil unrest.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan gained 1.3 per cent, extending its rally into a fifth straight day to reach a level last seen on March 9.

Japan's Nikkei rose 1.2 per cent to its highest level since late February, while mainland China's CSI300 rose 0.4 per cent to break above its May peak to a 12-week high.

E-mini futures for the U.S. S&P 500 were up 0.2 per cent in early Wednesday trade, extending the gains so far this week to 1.4 per cent.