Sensex ends 629 points higher, Nifty at 11,416; Bajaj Auto, IndusInd Bank top gainers

Market indices extended gains for the second consecutive day and closed higher amid positive global equities. Sensex gained 629 points to 38,697 and Nifty ended 169 points higher to 11,416. Yesterday, Sensex ended at 38,067, up 94 points, and Nifty gained by 4 points to 11,22.

IndusInd Bank was the top gainer on Sensex followed by Bajaj Auto, Bajaj Finance, Axis Bank, SBI, Bajaj Finserv, ICICI Bank, HDFC twins and Reliance Industries. On the other hand, ONCG, Titan and Nestle India were the laggards. Sectorally, all the indices were trading in the green territory, with over 3.5% gain registered in banks and private banking index, and 2,5% growth seen in metals and FMCG index.

Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services said,"The announcement of Unlock 5.0 guidelines gave the markets a temporary boost, and benchmark indices closed up by more than 1.5%. Positive data indicating resumption and expansion in the pace of the country's factory output also supported the markets. Global indices were also positive on renewed hopes of a US stimulus package which can also ensure continued liquidity for emerging markets like India."

He added, "Rising cases of infections, seemingly high valuations and geopolitical tensions are still causes for worry for the markets. Next week cues will again mainly depend on how global markets close out this week."

Elsewhere in Asia, China, Hong Kong, Korea and Taiwan markets were closed for the holiday, while Japan's Tokyo Stock Exchange suspended trading on Thursday due to a technical issue. Most Asian markets traded positive on Wednesday, following overnight gains in Wall Street.

Wall Street was buoyant following news that Moderna's experimental Covid-19 vaccine, which won't be ready before the November election, has appeared safe and shows signs of working in older adults, according to study results published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Although gains were checked on a monthly basis, as hopes faded for more stimulus ahead of elections after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin failed to strike a coronavirus aid deal.

European markets opened a tad higher as investors reacted to the US Presidential debate and the prospects of economic recovery.

S Ranganathan, Head of Research at LKP Securities said, "Positive Global Cues led by US stimulus hopes sent Indices off to a flying start today. A 10% month on month rise in GST collections coupled with Unlock Guidelines lent strength to the rally with Financials leading the way. Late Afternoon trade also saw Auto stocks joining the party backed by better volume numbers".

On the currency front, the Indian rupee strengthened by 63 paise and closed for the day at 73.13 per dollar on Thursday, as positive domestic equities and weak American currency buoyed investor sentiments. Earlier the currency index opened at 73.60 per dollar at the interbank forex market, over its previous close of 73.76 per dollar.

Sugandha Sachdeva VP-Metals, Energy & Currency Research, Religare Broking said, "We are expecting the rupee to trade with a slight appreciation bias in the near-term, given the persistent dollar inflows in the domestic market and a healthy current account surplus. The market will be watching developments around the next round of U.S. fiscal stimulus packages, without which the upbeat risk appetite may not be able to sustain for very long."

Worldwide, there were 341 lakh confirmed cases and 10.18 lakh deaths from COVID-19 outbreak. India's COVID-19 caseload breached the 63-lakh mark and the death toll from COVID-19 infections rose to 0.98 lakh, as of today.

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