Domestic stock markets moved higher on Wednesday morning, , in line with bullish global trends, as India entered an extended nationwide lockdown until May 3 to curb the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.
The S&P BSE Sensex index rose as high as 31,400.36, up 710.34 points from the previous close, after starting the day up 587.09 points at 31,277.11. The broader NSE Nifty benchmark gained 205.65 points to touch 9,199.50 at the strongest level in early trade, after opening at 9,196.40. Gains across banking, pharmaceutical and metal stocks helped the markets.
In the 50-scrip Nifty index, 47 stocks moved higher with UPL, Hindalco, ICICI Bank, Shree Cement, Asian Paints and Dr Reddy’s trading between 2.44 per cent and 3.72 per cent higher
The Centre’s move to ease lockdown rules starting April 20 also boosted sentiment of traders as they returned from the Amebkar Jayanti holiday.
On Monday, the Sensex ended 469 points lower at 30,690 and Nifty fell 118 points to 8,993. Sensex and Nifty have fallen 9.82 per cent in the last one month and 26 per cent since the start of the year. Contrary to this, the indices have gained over 11 per cent in last week’s trade.
Announcing lockdown guidelines, the government this morning permitted industries to operate in rural areas, manufacturing to start in SEZs (workers will have to be accommodated within their premises or in “adjacent buildings”), though the transportation will have to be arranged by employers. Food processing in rural areas will also begin from April 20. Restrictions have also been eased for the construction sector.
Wisdom capital analysts observe that share-specific action pushed the Indian markets higher, adding that extension of the lockdown has not yet made investors jittery unlike the time when the first lockdown was announced.
Also, analysts point out that investors have already factored in the chances of extension and the domestic market will continue to take cues from worldwide trends. However, concerns over the rise in coarnavirus cases across the nation and the globe are keeping domestic investors cautious.
While shares in Wall Street jumped in overnight trade, stocks in Asia were trading in green, except for Nikkie, Hang Seng and Shanghai. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 2.39 per cent, the S&P 500 added 3.06 per cent and the Nasdaq Composite gained 3.95 per cent. SGX Nifty also traded 0.50 per cent higher at 9,251.
Meanwhile, investors today are eagerly awaiting IT major Wipro Ltd to announce its March quarter earnings before its larger peers TCS Ltd and Infosys Ltd.
Wisdom Capital market analysts will focus on the country’s fourth-largest IT company’s update on revenue growth outlook for Q1FY21, timeline for the appointment of a new CEO, work from home (WFH) measures and its impact on business and margin trajectory in view of the Covid-19 pandemic. According to HDFC Securities, Wipro’s USD revenue is expected to fall by 0.4 per cent QoQ led by weak Banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI), COVID-19 impact and fall in oil prices. Growth will be at the lower end of the guided range of 0-2 per cent in constant currency.
