Sensex up 700 points, Nifty tops 9,200; Sun Pharma, L&T top gainers
Mumbai: Indian markets rose on Wednesday, lifted mainly by pharma and FMCG stocks, following positive cues from global indices. That apart, government's move to ease lockdown rules starting April 20 also boosted sentiment.
The S&P BSE Sensex was up 666 points, or 2.1 per cent, at 31,380 levels and the Nifty50 index hovered around 9,200 level, up 210 points.
Sun Pharma and Larsen & Toubro (both up 4%) were the top gainers in the Sensex pack.
Meanwhile, Metropolis Healthcare fell nearly 14 per cent after two large trades on the NSE.
All the Nifty sectoral indices were in the green, led by Nifty Pharma, up 3 per cent.
Equity benchmark Sensex jumped over 600 points in opening trade on Wednesday tracking gains in index-heavyweights Reliance Industries, ICICI Bank and L&T even as concerns over coronavirus-led economic blow mounted.
After hitting a high of 31,400.36, the 30-share index was trading 639.83 points or 2.08 per cent higher at 31,329.85.
Similarly, the NSE Nifty was quoting 187.20 points, or 2.08 per cent, up at 9,181.05.
Market remained closed on Tuesday for Ambedkar Jayanti.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) were net buyers in the capital market in the last trading session, as they bought equity shares worth Rs 1,243.74 crore, according to provisional exchange data.
The government, after market hours on Monday, notified Mauritius as an "eligible country", enabling its investment entities to register as Category-I FPIs with lower KYC requirements.
Experts said that considering the size of investment in Indian capital market by overseas entities from Mauritius, this is a welcome move.
According to traders, positive cues on the FPI front and stock-specific action pulled the market higher. However, concerns over the spike in Covid-19 cases and an extension in the nationwide lockdown in the country kept investors cautious.
The death toll due to Covid-19 rose to 377 while the number of cases in the country climbed to 11,439 on Wednesday, according to the Union Health Ministry.
Global tally of the infections has crossed 19 lakh, with over 1.2 lakh deaths.
