Markets Open On Positive Note, Sensex Jumps 276 Points

The S&P BSE Sensex was up 276.38 points at 32,390 levels with stocks such as HDFC rising 5 per cent, followed by Bajaj Finance and Tech Mahindra that also gained 3 per cent each.

(Photo by PUNIT PARANJPE / AFP)

New Delhi: Markets on Wednesday opened on a positive note with S&P BSE Sensex rising 276.38 points at 32,390 levels backed by the performance of stocks including HDFC which rose 5 per cent, Bajaj Finance and Tech Mahindra which gained 3 per cent each. HDFC Bank rose 2 per cent while Reliance Industries was up 1 per cent. On the other hand, IndusInd Bank slipped 4 per cent. Axis Bank has slipped 3 per cent after reporting a net loss of Rs 1,388 crore in March quarter results. Most of the Nifty sectoral indices were in the green, led by Nifty Financial Services index, up 1.6 per cent. The Nifty is trading at 9,417.25 points in the morning. On Tuesday, the Sensex closed at 32,114.52 points. Axis Bank on Tuesday reported a net loss of Rs 1,388 crore for the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2019-20 due to higher provisions. The rupee settled at 76.18 per dollar, as compared to the previous close of 76.24 per dollar. Meanwhile, US stocks gave up earlier gains to end lower on Tuesday as the market was pressured by considerable losses in major tech shares. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 32.23 points, or 0.13 per cent, to 24,101.55. The S&P 500 erased 15.09 points, or 0.52 per cent, to 2,863.39. The Nasdaq Composite Index decreased 122.43 points, or 1.40 per cent, to 8,607.73, Xinhua reported. All three major indexes rallied more than 1 per cent earlier in the session. Shares of US tech giants, the so-called FAANG group of Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix and Google-parent Alphabet, all closed lower. The S&P 500 communication services and technology sectors slid 1.89 per cent and 1.41 per cent, respectively, among the worst-performing groups. Wall Street also weighed the possibility of reopening the economy amid the COVID-19 outbreak. As of Tuesday afternoon, more than 1 million COVID-19 cases have been reported in the United States, with over 58,000 deaths, according to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University. (With inputs from IANS)