Markets Remain Volatile In Opening Trade, Sensex Gains 316 Points, Nifty Up 97 Points

Indian equity market remained volatile in the opening session on Wednesday as Asia investors remain wary about the impact of Covid-19 induced lockdowns on economies.

Equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty on Friday started at fresh highs led by gains in index-heavyweights RIL, ICICI Bank and SBI amid uninterrupted foreign fund inflow. Photo/PTI

New Delhi: Indian equity market remained volatile in the opening session on Wednesday as investors in Asia remain wary about the impact of Covid-19 induced lockdowns to economies, with the Sensex gaining a mere 26.52 points, or 0.09 per cent at 30,222.69, while the Nifty 50 index rose 6.15 points, or 0.07 per cent to 8,885.25. At 9.55 AM the Sensex jumped 316.92 to touch 30,513.09 while Nifty  was up 97 points at 8,976.60 97.50. ITC remained the top gainer with 2 per cent gains on Sensex. Besides, HDFC and HDFC Bank also moved 1 per cent up each. IRCTC soared 5 per cent after the Indian Railways announced doubling of Shramik special trains to 400 a day by this week. Bajaj Finance also surged 2 per cent after declaring March quarter earnings. Meanwhile, stock markets in Asian opened on a mixed note as investors remain cautious over a report by Stat News stating Moderna Inc's claim to have found a potential vaccine to treat coronavirus is not substantial and a solution to the pandemic seems to be still far away. Japan's Nikkei 225 rose nearly 1 per cent and South Korea's Kospi gained 0.2 per cent. Hong Kong slipped 0.2 per cent and China was down 0.4 per cent. US stocks dropped on Tuesday, dragged by a noticeable pullback in the energy sector. The Dow Jones Industrial Average decreased 390.51 points, or 1.59 percent, to 24,206.86. The S&P 500 fell 30.97 points, or 1.05 per cent, to 2,922.94. The Nasdaq Composite Index shed 49.72 points, or 0.54 pe rcent, to 9,185.10, Xinhua reported. Shares of US energy giants Chevron and Exxon Mobil both slid more than 3 per cent, weighing on the market. The S&P 500 energy sector closed 2.89 per cent lower, the worst-performing group. Shares of Home Depot fell nearly 3 percent after the US home improvement retailer reported first-quarter earnings that missed consensus estimate. Walmart shares pared earlier gains to close 2.12 per cent lower despite a better-than-anticipated quarterly profit. Wall Street also responded testimony from US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, which is part of the required updates to Congress on economic response to the Covid-19 pandemic. "The scope and speed of this downturn are without modern precedent and are significantly worse than any recession since World War II," Powell said, adding "we are committed to using our full range of tools to support the economy in this challenging time." Do Watch|Treat National Capital Region as one economic zone: Sudhir Mishra (With inputs from agencies)