Stock markets end losing streak, Sensex crosses 50,000 after 2.3% rise

NEW DELHI:  Shrugging off rising Covid-19 cases and fears over increasing bond yields, domestic equity benchmark indices ended last week’s bearish run on Tuesday and recorded a sharp rise. Led by a surge in IT, metal, and banking stocks, the 30-share BSE Sensex soared 1,128 points, or 2.30 per cent, to close at 50,137; while the broader NSE Nifty moved 338 points or 2.33 per cent higher to settle at 14,845.

“Beating worries of increasing Covid cases and rising bond yields, the domestic market sparked a rally today as investors turned their focus to economic recovery supported by vaccination drives. Positive openings seen in Asian and European markets also helped in boosting optimism in the Indian market,” Vinod Nair, head of research at Geojit Financial Services, said. 

Rusmik Oza, Executive Vice President, Head of Fundamental Research at Kotak Securities, for their part, said: “The start of new settlement for FY22 and forthcoming Q4 earnings seasons could be the reasons for fresh investor interest in stocks. US markets, especially the Dow Jones and S&P 500 are showing firm uptrend due to the ongoing stimulus and faster vaccination drive which could also be one of the reasons for our markets to inch upwards.”

HDFC Bank was the lead gainer on the BSE, rising 4.11 per cent. HCL Tech climbed 3.91 per cent, Infosys 3.69 per cent, Hindustan Unilever Ltd 3.59 per cent, and NTPC 3.4 per cent. Banking and metal stocks soared after JSW Steel announced the completion of its resolution process for Bhushan Steel and Power, allowing lenders to recover some of the bad loans. JSW Steel jumped 5 per cent and Tata Steel zoomed 4.3 per cent during the day.

On the IPO front, Rakesh Jhunjhunwala-backed Nazara Technologies made an impressive debut. Shares of the mobile gaming company started off the day at `1,971 on the BSE, a premium 79.02 per cent compared to the issue price of Rs 1,101 per share. 

Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Seoul also ended on a positive note. Stock exchanges in Europe were trading with significant gains in mid-session deals. The rupee slumped  against the US dollar by 87 paise to close at nearly a one-month low of 73.38. “The INR has remained quite steady even though the dollar index rose. Also when the US 10-year bond yields have spiked sharply India’s 10-year bond yield has remained quite stable. These two factors could act in India’s favour,” Oza added.