Domestic stock markets maintained their momentum in the mid-morning, tracking gains in global peers, as India entered an extended nationwide lockdown to fight the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. The S&P BSE Sensex index climbed to as high as 31,543.91 after starting the day up 587.09 points at 31,277.11 and NSE Nifty benchmark touched an intra-day high of 9,251.80, after opening at 9,196.40.
At 10:33 am, the Sensex traded 813.33 points - or 2.66 per cent - higher at 31,503.30, and the Nifty was up 244 points - or 2.78 per cent - at 9,236. All the NSE sectoral indices were trading in the green, with financials, pharma, FMCG and metal shares leading the charts. A total of 49 shares in the 50-scrip Nifty index moved higher.were trading in the green.
Nifty VIX corrected by 5 per cent to 48, after touching an intra-day high of 51.41, which suggests a decline in the near-term volatility. However, analysts say volatility cannot be ruled out as investors assess the severity of the rapidly-spreading COVID-19 disease.
Oil prices rose on Wednesday as investors looked for bargains after the previous session's slump and on hopes that consuming countries will look to fill their strategic reserves. Brent futures were up 38 cents, or 1.3 per cent, at $29.98 a barrel, after falling 6.7 per cent on Tuesday.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) slashed growth forecast for India, projecting a GDP growth of 1.9 per cent in 2020. This comes at a time when the global economy has hit the worst recession as a result of the collapse in economic activity due to the coronavirus-induced lockdown.
Top percentage gainers on the NSE were UPL, IndusInd Bank, Axis Bank, ITC and ICICI Bank, adding between 5.4 per cent and 11 per cent each.
In the NSE pharma index, Glenmark soared 11.6 per cent to Rs 315, while Aurobindo Pharma, Sun Pharma, Cipla and r Reddy's gained between 2.6 per xent to 5 per cent each,.In the financials space, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank and SBI gained between 3.4 per cent to 6.6 per cent each. and in the FMCG space, ITC, Britannia and Hindustan Unilever added 4.6-5.7 per cent each, on the NSE.
Wipro, which is scheduled to report its financial results for the quarter ended March 31, traded at Rs 195.25, higher by 1 per cent, on the NSE.
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