Sensex rallies over 400 points in early trade
Equity benchmark Sensex rallied over 400 points in opening trade on Friday, tracking gains in index majors HDFC twins, ICICI Bank, and Kotak Bank, despite a negative trend in global markets. The 30-share BSE index was trading 408.56 points or 0.82 percent higher at 49,973.42, and the broader NSE Nifty surged 119.35 points or 0.80 percent to 15,025.40.
Who were the top gainers or losers?
IndusInd Bank was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, advancing around three percent, followed by Kotak Bank, SBI, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, and Bajaj Finance. On the other hand, PowerGrid was the sole loser.
Sensex closed 0.68 percent lower in the previous session
In the previous session, the 30-share BSE index, Sensex finished at 49,564.86, down by 337.78 points or 0.68 percent, and Nifty closed 124.10 points or 0.83 percent lower at 14,906.05. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net buyers in the capital market as they purchased shares worth Rs. 71.04 crore on Thursday, as per provisional exchange data.
Declining COVID-19 cases offer comfort to the market
Domestic equities look to be good as of now, said Binod Modi Head of Strategy at Reliance Securities, adding that benchmark indices witnessed sharp run-up this week despite selling pressure seen in the last two days. As the daily COVID-19 caseload continued to be below three lakh, it offered comfort and may result in the lifting of ongoing state-level lockdowns sooner.
Impact of second wave might be limited to Q1 2022
Further, the assumption of the second wave of COVID-19 to peak out by the end of May or mid of June holds true and the adverse impact of the second wave should not be felt beyond the first quarter of the financial year 2022, Modi noted. In the US, stocks ended higher mainly on upbeat economic data, Modi further added.
Brent crude was trading at $65.16 per barrel
In the US, jobless benefit claims for last week fell to a pandemic low of 4.44 lakh. Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Seoul were trading on a negative note in mid-session deals, while Nikkei was trading in the positive terrain. Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude was trading 0.09 percent higher at $65.16 per barrel.
