The NSE Nifty 50 benchmark index rose to as high as 9,377.10 compared to its previous close of 9,154.40
Domestic share markets jumped amid broad-based gains led by financial stocks on Monday, after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) rolled out a special liquidity facility for mutual funds to ease the pressure due to the coronovirus pandemic. The S&P BSE Sensex index climbed as much as 2.48 per cent - or 776.48 points - to touch 32,103.70 during the session, having started the day up 331.82 points at 31,327.22. The broader NSE Nifty 50 benchmark rose to as high as 9,377.10, after opening at 9,259.70 compared to the previous close of 9,154.40. Gains across sectors - led by banking, automobile and pharmaceutical shares - pushed the markets higher.
Both benchmark indices trimmed those gains by the end of the session. The Sensex closed 415.86 points - or 1.33 per cent - higher at 31,743.08, and the Nifty settled at 9,282.30, up 127.90 points - or 1.40 per cent - from its previous close.
In the Nifty basket of 50 shares, 42 counters ended higher. Top percentage gainers were Britannia, IndusInd Bank, Bajaj Finserv, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Axis Bank, closing between 5.48 per cent and 7.02 per cent higher. On the other hand, NTPC, HDFC Bank, Mahindra & Mahindra and Dr Reddy's, down between 0.59 per cent and 1.12 per cent each, were the top Nifty losers.
ICICI Bank (up 3.85 per cent), Kotak Mahindra Bank (5.15 per cent) and Axis Bank (5.74 per cent) together accounted for a gain of 200 points in the Sensex.
Market breadth favoured gains as 1,302 stocks on the BSE finished the day higher against 1,085 that succumbed to losses. On the NSE, 1,076 stocks advanced whereas 731 declined.
The RBI announced a special liquidity facility worth Rs 50,000 crore for mutual funds, days after Franklin Templeton Mutual Fund decided to close six debt schemes in India. The central bank said heightened volatility in capital markets in reaction to COVID-19 has imposed liquidity strains on mutual funds.
The Nifty Bank index - comprising stocks of 12 major lenders in the country - climbed as much as 3.26 per cent during the session, before shutting shop with a gain of 2.52 per cent. Financial stocks extended gains after the RBI announcement.
RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said meeting the fiscal deficit target in current financial year is going to be challenging and the central bank has not yet made a decision on its monetisation.
Meanwhile, credit ratings agency India Ratings revised its economic growth forecast for the current financial year to a 29-year low of 1.9 per cent, citing the coronavirus pandemic and the subsequent lockdown.
Asian shares bounced back on fresh stimulus from Japan's central bank. While MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares jumped 1.64 per cent, Japan's Nikkei 225 benchmark soared 2.71 per cent. China's Shahghai Composite index rose 0.25 per cent.
The Bank of Japan (BoJ) on Monday expanded monetary stimulus for the second straight month to ease corporate funding strains and finance huge government spending, while the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank are due to meet later in the week.
European shares started the day with sharp gains, with the United Kingdom's FTSE benchmark index up 1.50 per cent. France's CAC 40 and Germany's DAX indices were last seen trading 1.83 per cent and 2.45 per cent higher respectively.
