Sensex reclaims 50,000; Nifty skyrockets 337 points

Extending morning gains benchmark Indian equity indices BSE Sensex and the Nifty50 indices each ended over 2.30% higher on Tuesday supported by across-the-board buying. At close, Sensex jumped 1,128 points, to 50,136 and the Nifty nears 14,850 marks at 14,845 ending 337 points higher.

27 out of 30 Sensex stock ended in green with HDFC Bank gaining over 4%, followed by HCL Tech, Infosys, NTPC, HUL rallied over 3.5%. Whereas M&M, Axis Bank & Bharti Airtel were the laggards.

Sectorally, the Nifty IT, Nifty Metal and Nifty Pharma index advanced over 2.5% each on the NSE, while the Nifty FMCG  closed with nearly 2% gains. On the contrary, the Nifty Realty index ended lower 0.03% in a firm market.

Market analyst Ajay Bagga holds a positive view on commodity-linked stocks. “Positive view on both oil and industrial metals as the macroeconomic outlook remains conducive for stronger commodities demand amid reflation. We think it is a good time for investors to consider adding exposure to commodities,” he said in a Tweet.

Mid-caps and small-caps underperformed their larger peers as the BSE MidCap closed 0.64% up and the BSE SmallCap settled 0.68% higher.

VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services said, “Sharp decline in FII selling coupled with large buying by DIIs can support the market and even take it higher. But there are many concerns like a surge in Covid cases, particularly in economically crucial Maharashtra, appreciation in US 10-year bond yield above 1.7% and the dollar index moving up to 92.8 levels. DIIs and retail investors are likely to be buyers in banking, IT, cement and metal stocks which look attractive at present levels.”

New listing:

Shares of Nazara Technologies ended in a 20% lower circuit at Rs 1,576.80  on the BSE. Yet it closed at a premium of 43.22% over the initial public offer (IPO) price of Rs 1,101. The stock was listed at Rs 1,971, a premium of 79.02% from the IPO price. The stock hit an intraday high of Rs 2,026.90. On the BSE, 7.40 lakh shares were traded on the counter so far.

Global markets:

Shares in Europe and Asia advanced on Tuesday, as investors were encouraged by the roll-out of coronavirus vaccines. Japan’s retail sales declined 1.5% in February from a year earlier, according to a preliminary report released Tuesday by the country’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.

Wall Street ended lower on Monday after US hedge fund Archegos Capital defaulted on margin calls. The S&P 500 ended just slightly in the red, with bank shares falling amid warnings of potential losses from a hedge fund’s default on margin calls, while optimism over the economy limited the day’s declines.

President Joe Biden’s announcement that 90% of adults will be eligible for the Covid-19 vaccine next month helped U.S. stocks recover from their lows, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at another all-time peak.

The COVID-19 vaccines of Moderna Inc and Pfizer-BioNtech were found effective in real-world conditions, the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) – the United States’ national public health agency- said in a report released on March 29. Both the vaccines were found to be 90% effective if two doses of the vaccine were given to the beneficiaries, it said.