Sensex, Nifty close higher for 3rd session amid rising Covid-19 cases

Sensex and Nifty ended on a bullish note on Tuesday amid heavy buying in banking and financial stocks tracking mixed cues from global markets. Extending gains for the third consecutive session, Sensex ended 244 points higher at 38,407 and Nifty closed 52 points higher at 11,322. Yesterday, Sensex ended 141 points higher at 38,182 and Nifty gained 60 points to 11,274.

Axis Bank, followed by Tata Steel, ICICI Bank, HDFC, PowerGrid, Tech Mahindra and SBI were among the top gainers. On the other hand, Titan, Sun Pharma, Bharti Airtel and Reliance Industries were among the laggards.

Scheduled April-June quarterly earnings announcements by Bosch, Motherson Sumi Systems, Metropolis Healthcare, Central Bank of India, Bajaj Electricals, Honda India power products, RITES, Symphony also helped to keep the tone for the stock market bullish today.

Valuations

On Nifty's technical indicators, Manish Hathiramani, proprietary index trader and technical analyst, Deen Dayal Investments said, "After crossing the hurdle of 11250, we have moved swiftly to over 11,350 upon opening itself. We should be able to achieve 11,400 and then 11,500 in this intermediate upward rally. The Nifty support continues to be at 11,100."

"Going ahead, the upcoming macroeconomic data viz. CPI, IIP data and Supreme Court hearing on AGR case (Friday) would be on investors' radar," said Ajit Mishra, VP - Research, Religare Broking on markets' near-term outlook.

Overseas markets

Global equities were trading higher today, although on a cautious note amid renewed tension between US and China. The tensions between the world's two largest economies escalated after banning of Chinese apps in the US. In the latest flare-up in tensions, Beijing has imposed sanctions on 11 US officials. Wall Street also saw a mixed session yesterday as investors eyed stalled US stimulus efforts.

A pause on fiscal aid negotiations in Washington and escalating US-China trade tensions have kept gains in global equities muted in the recent sessions.

Worldwide, there are 202 lakh confirmed cases and 7.38 lakh deaths from the coronavirus COVID-19 outbreak. In India, coronavirus cases surpassed 22 lakh mark today, with total deaths standing at 0.45 lakh.

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Share Market Highlights: Sensex ends 224 points higher, Nifty at 11,322; NTPC, ITC, JSW Steel top performers