S&P BSE/NSE Sensex, Nifty Update Today: Sensex, Nifty Rise Over 1% As Financial Stocks Extend Gains

Sensex, Nifty Rise Over 1% As Financial Stocks Extend Gains: 10 Things To Know

Share Market Updates: Gains in banking and financial services stocks supported the markets

Domestic stock markets rose more than 1 per cent on Thursday, extending gains a day after benchmark indices soared more than 3 per cent in their biggest single-day surge so far this month. The S&P BSE Sensex index jumped as much as 1.21 per cent - or 381.11 points - to touch 31,986.33 in the first hour of trade, after starting the session up 222.58 points at 31,827.80. The broader NSE Nifty 50 climbed to as high as 9,426.70, having started the session higher at 9,364.95 compared to its previous close of 9,314.95. Gains in banking and financial services stocks supported the markets; however, losses in IT, pharmaceutical and consumer goods counters limited the upside.

Here are 10 things to know about the markets today:

At 10:00 am, the Sensex traded 316.96 points - or 1.00 per cent - higher at 31,922.18 while the Nifty was up 84.85 points - or 0.91 per cent - at 9,399.80.
Thirty six stocks in the Nifty basket of 50 shares moved higher at the time. Top percentage gainers were IndusInd Bank, Tata Motors, Axis Bank, HDFC Bank and HDFC, trading between 2.80 per cent and 3.97 per cent higher. Wipro, Infosys, HCL Tech, ITC and TCS - down between 1.42 per cent and 1.99 per cent each - were the top Nifty losers.
Market breadth was highly positive as 1,153 stocks rose on the BSE against 434 that fell. On the NSE, 1,198 shares advanced while 380 declined in early deals.
The Nifty Bank index - comprising stocks of 12 major lenders in the country - jumped as much as 3.17 per cent, a day after it surged 7.28 per cent. IndusInd Bank, Axis Bank and HDFC Bank led the gains in the sector.
Analysts awaited macroeconomic data for more clarity on the economic damage caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The government will release data on GDP or gross domestic product for the quarter ended March 31 at 5:30 pm on Friday.
Equities elsewhere in Asia registered cautious gains as growing optimism about economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic trumped immediate concerns about a standoff between the US and China over Hong Kong. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was last seen trading down 0.02 per cent. Japan's Nikkei 225 and China's Shanghai Composite indices were up 2.01 per cent, 0.29 per cent and 0.67 per cent respectively at the time, whereas Hong Kong's Hang Seng benchmark was down 0.33 per cent.
The E-Mini S&P 500 futures rose 0.30 per cent in early Asian trade, indicating a positive start for Wall Street on Thursday.
Overnight in the US, the S&P 500 ended 1.48 per cent higher, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 2.21 per cent and the Nasdaq Composite climbed up 0.77 per cent.
However, the biggest risk to equities is the Sino-U.S. relationship, which is likely to worsen after U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that Hong Kong no longer warranted special treatment under U.S. law.
On Wednesday, the Sensex had soared 995.92 points to end at 31,605.22, and the Nifty settled at 9,314.95, up 285.90 points from the previous close, led by sharp buying interest in banking stocks.