Gains across sectors - led by financial and automobile stocks - pushed the markets higher
Continuing a rally for the sixth straight day, domestic stock markets logged sharp gains on Wednesday, with the benchmark Nifty 50 index crossing the 10,000 mark for the first time since March 13. The S&P BSE Sensex index climbed up as much as 1.77 per cent - or 597.18 points - to 34,422.71 in the first half of the session, whereas the broader Nifty index spiked to as high as 10,159.35 - up 180.25 points from the previous close, having started the day at 10,108.30. Analysts say optimism on the economy's gradual exit from the coronavirus-induced lockdowns amid a pickup in the risk-appetite globally is supporting the markets.
At 11:36 am, the Sensex traded 400.57 points - or 1.18 per cent - higher at 34,226.10 while the Nifty was up 127.90 points - or 1.28 per cent - at 10,107.00. Gains across sectors - led by financial and automobile stocks - pushed the markets higher.
In the 50-scrip Nifty basket, 40 shares moved higher at the time. Top percentage gainers were Britannia, Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, Vedanta and ICICI Bank, trading between 4.31 per cent and 5.04 per cent higher.
On the other hand, Bharti Infratel, Wipro, NTPC, Infosys and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) - down between 0.52 per cent and 1.75 per cent - were the top Nifty losers.
HDFC Bank (up 2.38 per cent), ICICI Bank (4.07 per cent) and Axis Bank (3.44 per cent) alone contributed more than 200 points to the gain in Sensex.
Britannia Industries shares surged more than 7 per cent to register a record high, a day after the fast-moving consumer goods major reported a better-than-expected profit in the quarter ended March 31.
Shares in InterGlobe Aviation - which operates the country's largest airline IndiGo - climbed up nearly 13 per cent. On Tuesday, the company reported a consolidated loss of Rs 871 crore in the January-March period, as against a profit of Rs 596 crore in the corresponding quarter a year ago. InterGlobe said it planned to cut costs and phase out older planes to tackle the economic costs of coronavirus.
The rally was broad-based, with mid- as well as small-cap segments bouncing in line with benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty. The S&P BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices strengthened as much as 1.60 per cent and 2.12 per cent during the session.
Market breadth was highly positive, with an advance-decline ratio of 4:1, as 1,409 stocks rose on the NSE against 309 that moved in the opposite direction. On the BSE, 1,676 shares advanced while 496 declined.
A combination of factors, such as as easing of lockdown restrictions in the country and global cues, are propelling the markets, Anita Gandhi, director at Arihant Capital Markets, told NDTV. "Also, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) projected above-normal monsoon."
Monsoon rains are expected to enter the country around June 1, the weather office said last week, marking the start of the four-month rainy season that is crucial for the country's farm-dependent economy. Weather conditions are "very likely to become favourable from June 1, 2020" for the monsoon onset over Kerala, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
Nearly half of the country's farmland depends on annual June-September rains to grow crops such as rice, corn, cane, cotton and soybeans.
Equities elsewhere in Asia followed a global rally as hopes of more stimulus bolstered riskier assets and overshadowed a host of other worries from the coronavirus to Hong Kong and growing US civil unrest.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan was last seen trading up 1.48 per cent, while Japan's Nikkei benchmark was up 1.67 per cent. China's Shanghai Composite, Hong Kong's Hang Seng and South Korea's KOSPI indices were up 0.51 per cent, 1.37 per cent and 2.58 per cent respectively at the time.
The E-Mini S&P 500 futures rose 0.30 per cent in early Asian trade, indicating a positive start for US markets on Wednesday.
Overnight in Wall Street, a late-session rally pushed benchmark indices sharply higher as market participants looked past widespread social unrest and pandemic worries to focus instead on easing lockdown restrictions and signs of economic recovery. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 1.05 per cent higher, whereas the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite indices rose 0.82 per cent and 0.59 per cent respectively.
The World Bank said on Tuesday that it expects the coronavirus and resulting recessions to leave "lasting scars" on developing and emerging market countries, with the worst damage on oil exporters and those suffering financial crises.
(With inputs from agencies)
