Sensex Jumps Over 400 Points; Banking Stocks Lead Gains

Domestic stock markets started Tuesday's session on a positive note amid broad-based gains, as the country remained in an extended lockdown to curb the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The S&P BSE Sensex index jumped as much as 1.33 per cent - or 421.57 points - to 32,164.65, having started the session up 358.83 points at 32,101.91. The broader NSE Nifty 50 benchmark climbed to as high as 9,402.55 after starting the session at 9,389.80, compared with its previous close of 9,282.30. Gains across sectors - led by banking and financial services stocks - pushed the markets higher.

However, the markets gave up half of those gains in the first few minutes of trade. At 9:25 am, the Sensex traded 212.60 points - or 0.67 per cent - higher at 31,955.68 while the Nifty was up 68.10 points - or 0.73 per cent - at 9,350.40.

Market breadth favoured gains with an advance-decline ratio - the number of rising shares vs declining counters - of nearly 3:1, as 850 stocks traded higher on the BSE against 319 that moved lower. On the NSE, 1,042 stocks advanced while 485 declined.

In the 50-scrip Nifty basket, 35 stocks traded higher at the time. Top percentage gainers were IndusInd Bank, Axis Bank, UPL, Zee Entertainment, Tata Motors and HDFC, trading between 2.98 per cent and 9.99 per cent higher. On the other hand, Wipro, ONGC, HCL Tech, Vedanta and Reliance Industries - down between 1.30 per cent and 1.51 per cent each - were the top Nifty losers.

IndusInd Bank shares were locked in the upper circuit (10 per cent) at Rs 448.05 apiece on the BSE, a day after the private sector lender reported its financial results for the January-March period. IndusInd Bank posted a 16.18 per cent fall in net profit to Rs 301.84 crore for the quarter ended March 31.

Axis Bank will report its earnings for the last quarter of financial year 2019-20 later in the day.  

Analysts say investors are still in a cautious mode assessing the measures announced by policymakers to fight the economic fallout from the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Equities in Asian markets were mixed in early trade, with MSCI's broadest index of Asia Pacific shares barring Japan last seen trading up 0.04 per cent while Japan's Nikkei 225 benchmark was down 0.62  per cent and China's Shanghai Composite down 0.38 per cent.

Overnight in the US, equities had a strong session as easing lockdown restrictions by some countries and American states buoyed sentiment however a fall in oil prices limited the upside.

On Monday, the S&P BSE Sensex index had risen 415.86 points - or 1.33 per cent - to end at 31,743.08, and the broader NSE Nifty 50 benchmark climbed 127.90 points (1.40 per cent) to settle at 9,282.30.