Sensex Gains Over 300 Pts in Early Trade, Nifty Inches Close to 10,000-mark

New Delhi: Equity benchmark Sensex crossed more than 309 points 0.93 per cent at 33,613.20 in the early hours of trade on Tuesday morning, while the NSE’s Nifty advanced 98.10 points or 1 per cent to 9,924.25. The market gains were mainly led by index-heavyweights Kotak Bank, HDFC, TCS and Reliance Industries amid positive cues from global markets. Also Read – Sensex Shoots Over 900 Pts on Day 1 of ‘Unlock’, Nifty Tops 9,800 in Early Trade

Kotak Mahindra Bank was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rising around 7 per cent, followed by M&M, Sun Pharma, Hero MotoCorp, Bajaj Finance, Tata Steel, Bharti Airtel and HCL Tech. Also Read – Sensex, Nifty Slip Below 2% as Financial Stocks Tumble, Banking Shares Take Hit

On the other hand, L&T, ITC, ICICI Bank and SBI were among the laggards. Also Read – After Sitharaman’s Liquidity Measures, Indian Equity Market Opens on Negative Note; Sensex Falls by 600 Pts

In the previous session, the BSE barometer settled 879.42 points or 2.57 per cent higher at 33,303.52 and the broader Nifty surged 245.85 points or 2.57 per cent to finish at 9,826.15.

Earlier on Monday, on the first day of ‘Unlock 1’, Sensex opened 900 points higher while the broader Nifty rose 244.10 points, mainly driven by gains in the banking sector.

On a net basis, foreign portfolio investors bought equities worth Rs 1,575.46 crore in the capital market on Monday, provisional exchange data showed.

According to analysts, a gradual easing of the lockdown boosted investor sentiment which further strengthened with the buoyancy in the global markets. Besides, the news of the timely arrival of monsoon also aided the surge.

Meanwhile, Moody’s Investors Service on Monday downgraded India’s sovereign rating to ‘Baa3’ from ‘Baa2’, saying there will be challenges in the implementation of policies to mitigate risks of a sustained period of low growth and deteriorating fiscal position.

Even though it is a downgrade, the rating is still in investment grade. This is on par with the rating of S&P and Fitch. This is unlikely to impact the market materially since the strength of the market is largely due to the humongous liquidity floating in the global financial system, said VK Vijayakumar- Chief Investment Strategist- Geojit Financial.

On the global front, bourses in Hong Kong, Tokyo and Seoul were trading with significant gains, while those in Shanghai slipped in the red.

Exchanges on Wall Street ended on a positive note in overnight trade.

International oil benchmark Brent crude futures were trading 0.81 per cent higher at USD 38.63 per barrel.

With inputs from PTI