The Sensex soared 350 points while the Nifty reclaimed the 12,200-mark on Wednesday on widespread buying in FMCG, bank and IT counters amid a positive trend in global equities on hopes that new coronavirus cases have plateaued.
Extending its gains for the second session, the 30-share BSE Sensex soared 349.76 points, or 0.85 per cent, to close at 41,565.90. Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty jumped 93.30 points, or 0.77 per cent, to 12,201.20.
HUL was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rallying 5 per cent, followed by Kotak Bank, Nestle India, ICICI Bank, Mahindra and Mahindra, Asian Paints and RIL. On the other hand, SBI, IndusInd Bank, Sun Pharma, Ultratech Cement, PowerGrid and NTPC fell up to 1.34 per cent.
Traders said domestic equities took positive cues from the global markets that climbed on optimism that spread of the coronavirus has been contained.
China on Wednesday reported its lowest number on new coronavirus cases since late January as authorities scrambled to contain its spread.
However, WHO head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus had on Tuesday said that although 99 per cent of cases were in China, where it remains “very much an emergency,” it also “holds a very grave threat for the rest of the world”.
“Investors’ appetite for risk improved as coronavirus concerns receded for the second day in a row. The impact of coronavirus has already affected the supply chains and factory activities across the globe, but the ground reality is improving in China and we can expect improvement in the next quarter. The domestic market is awaiting the January inflation and consensus show a spike in inflation which is expected to impact rate-sensitive stocks,” said Vinod Nair, head of research at Geojit Financial Services.
BSE FMCG, bankex, energy, IT, metal, teck and auto indices rose up to 1.90 per cent, while power, realty, consumer durables and capital goods fell up to 0.96 per cent. However, the broader BSE midcap and smallcap indices underperformed the benchmarks, shedding up to 0.29 per cent.
Bourses in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Seoul settled with gains. Stock exchanges in Europe also opened on a positive note.
Meanwhile, Brent crude oil futures rose 2.20 per cent to USD 55.20 per barrel.
On the currency front, the Indian rupee pared early gains to settle 6 paise down at 71.34 (provisional) against the US dollar on Wednesday ahead of the release of key domestic macroeconomic data. Forex traders said rising crude prices, foreign fund outflows and strengthening of the American currency weighed on the domestic unit.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 71.24 per dollar. During the day, it swung between between a high of 71.21 and a low of 71.40. The domestic unit finally settled at 71.34, down 6 paise over its previous close. The rupee had settled at 71.28 against the American currency on Tuesday.
“Rupee continued to consolidate in a narrow range for the fourth successive session ahead of inflation and industrial production number that will be released today. Weaker-than-expected economic number could continue to keep the currency weighed down,” said Gaurang Somaiyaa, Forex & Bullion analyst at Motilal Oswal Financial Services.