Market Live Updates, Sensex Today: Sensex Jumps Over 350 Points, Nifty Near 11,900 Amid Broad-Based Gains

Market Live Updates: Sensex Jumps Over 500 Points, Nifty Tests 11,900 As HDFC Bank Gains After Earnings Boost

Stock Market Updates: HDFC, HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank were the biggest boosts to Sensex

Domestic stock markets registered sharp gains after a gap-up opening on Monday tracking gains across Asian equities, boosted by hopes of a US fiscal package and expectations of a COVID-19 vaccine though Chinese data dampened sentiment. The S&P BSE Sensex index jumped 536.5 points - or 1.34 per cent - to touch 40,519.48 at the strongest level in morning deals, and the broader NSE Nifty 50 benchmark climbed to as high as 11,898.25, up 135.8 points - or 1.15 per cent - from its previous close. Gains in banking, financial services, consumer goods and metal shares pushed the markets higher, but losses in auto, pharmaceutical and select IT stocks limited the upside.

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At 2:14 pm, the Sensex traded 428.82 points - or 1.07 per cent - higher at 40,411.80 while the Nifty was up 110.85 points - or 0.94 per cent - at 11,873.30.
Top percentage gainers in the 50-scrip Nifty basket at the time were ONGC, NTPC, GAIL, HDFC and Axis Bank, trading between 2.18 per cent and 3.72 per cent higher.
On the other hand, UPL, TCS, Hero MotoCorp, Cipla and Divi's Lab - down 0.65-1.79 per cent each - were the worst hit among 12 laggards in the index.
HDFC, HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank were the biggest boosts to Sensex.
HDFC Bank shares gained as much as 2.49 per cent to Rs 1,228.80 apiece on the BSE, after the country's largest lender by market value posted a 18.4 per cent jump in its profit in the quarter ended September 30.
The Nifty Bank index - which tracks stocks of 10 majors lenders in the country - gained as much as 2.83 per cent during the session, led by HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and Axis Bank.
"Bank stocks are steadily gaining momentum after HDFC Bank's results and markets think that other private sector banks could follow suit," said Saurabh Jain, assistant vice president at SMC Global Securities.
Share markets elsewhere in Asia approached a two-and-a-half-year high registered recently, fuelled by hopes of a new fiscal package in the US and a coronavirus vaccine by the end of this year. MSCI's broadest index of Asia Pacific shares traded 0.31 per cent higher. Japan's Nikkei 225 benchmark was up 1.06 per cent at the time.
Drug maker Pfizer said it could have a coronavirus vaccine ready in the US by the end of the year and US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she was optimistic legislation on a coronavirus relief package could be pushed through before the presidential election.
However, China's Shanghai Composite benchmark index was down 0.33 per cent after weaker-than-expected macroeconomic data. The country's gross domestic product (GDP) grew 4.9 per cent in the July-September period from a year earlier, slower than the median forecast of 5.2 per cent, though separate monthly indicators pointed to an expansion in economic activity.