Benchmarks continue upward rally in late afternoon session

The Indian benchmarks continued their upward rally in late afternoon session, with the Sensex and Nifty gaining more than 1800 and 500 points, respectively. The broader indices, BSE Mid cap and Small cap index are also extended gains. There were no losers on sectoral indices on the BSE. Buying in frontline stocks Indusind Bank, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank and Hindustan Unilever helped the market to add more points on the street. Local investors cheered with reports that the Finance Ministry is working on a second relief package for the Indian economy hit hard by the coronavirus outbreak and the 21-day nationwide lockdown imposed to curb the contagion. Traders ignored the number of confirmed coronavirus (Covid-19) cases reached 4,281-mark on Monday. The death toll has increased to 111, while 318 patients have been discharged or recovered from the highly contagious disease. Meanwhile, Fitch Ratings’ statement that it has slashed India's growth forecast for the current fiscal to a 30-year low of 2%, from 5.1% projected earlier, as economic recession gripped global economy following the lockdown due to COVID-19 pandemic. Sector wise, Cement sector stocks remained in focus, as cement demand in India is expected to fall sharply by 20-25 per cent in the current fiscal year if the COVID-19 pandemic is not contained by May, and construction activities begin only in the second quarter.

On the global front, European markets were trading higher, as investors anticipate more financial aid to help bolster the region’s battered economies. Back home, Prime Minister Narendra Modi suggested that all ministries must prepare business continuity plans once the lockdown ends.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 29432.14, up by 1841.19 points or 6.67% after trading in a range of 28602.31 and 29522.39. There were 29 stocks advancing against 1 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index gained 4.30%, while Small cap index was up by 3.56%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Healthcare up by 8.67%, Bankex up by 8.40%, Energy up by 7.43%, Telecom up by 7.24% and Metal was up by 6.70%, while there were no losers on sectoral indices on the BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Indusind Bank up by 17.62%, Axis Bank up by 15.20%, ICICI Bank up by 10.63%, Hindustan Unilever up by 10.29% and Sun Pharma up by 10.19%. On the flip side, Bajaj Finance down by 4.49% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, after recording the strongest rise in business activity for over seven years in February, Indian services sector growth contracted in the month of March, as the outbreak of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) dented client demand, particularly in overseas markets. As per the survey report, the seasonally adjusted Nikkei Services Business Activity Index fell to 49.3 in March from 57.5 in February. Further, the Nikkei India Composite PMI Output Index -- which measures both manufacturing and services – also eased to 50.6 in March from 57.6 in February.

The report noted that business activity was reduced in response to weaker demand. The global COVID-19 pandemic reportedly led a fall in new orders from clients, particularly overseas.  That said, the decrease in output was mild overall. In response to reduced business requirements, the level of employment across the Indian services sector fell as firms cut workforce numbers to keep operating costs tight. Further, backlogs of work rose at a slight, but weaker rate in March.

On the inflation front, input costs facing Indian service providers increased at the slowest rate for six months during March. Consequently, output charges rose at a pace that was softer than in February and below its long-run average. The report also said that firms were still optimistic that activity levels would rise over the next 12 months as the extreme measures to curb the spread of COVID-19 are lifted and global demand begins to recover.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 8617.10, up by 533.30 points or 6.60% after trading in a range of 8360.95 and 8643.20. There were 48 stocks advancing against 2 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Indusind Bank up by 17.66%, Axis Bank up by 15.04%, Dr. Reddys Lab up by 12.94%, Cipla up by 11.36% and JSW Steel up by 11.12%. On the flip side, Bajaj Finance down by 4.56% and Bajaj Finserv down by 2.12% were the top losers.

European markets were trading higher, UK’s FTSE 100 increased 153.46 points or 2.75% to 5,735.85, France’s CAC increased 148.61 points or 3.42% to 4,494.75 and Germany’s DAX was up by 424.11 points or 4.21% to 10,499.28.