Cheer returns to Street after 7 days; Sensex rises 480 pts, metals shine

The equity markets snapped their seven-day losing streak — worst in five years — after the central banks pledged to repair the economic damage due to the coronavirus. Most Asian and European markets rallied after the US markets climbed 5 per cent overnight. The volatility also cooled off as investors judged recent losses as excessive.
 
The benchmark Sensex rose 480 points to end at 38,624, while the 50-share Nifty gained 170.6 points to settle at 11,303.
 
In the preceding seven trading sessions the Sensex and the Nifty had crashed nearly 8 per cent amid a global sell-off in risky assets.

Investor reassessed the extent of damage to the economic growth after the central banks said they would take “concerted action”. The Group of Seven (G-7) finance ministers and monetary officials held a meeting to a draft coordinated policies to maximize effectiveness. Bank of Japan also announced stimulus measures, while Australian and Malaysian central banks lowered rates.

 
“Comments by the central bank officials over possible policy initiatives to curtail economic impact held markets positive across the globe,” said Vinod Nair, head-research, Geojit Financial Services.

 
Japan’s Topix fell 1.4 per cent as investors remained sceptical over the effectiveness of the stimulus measures.
 
Meanwhile, the number of coronavirus cases around the world surpassed 90,000. Many countries stepped up travel restrictions to contain the spread of the virus. The OECD warned of long-term effects on globalisation from the virus.
 
All the Sensex components ended with gains except for HDFC Bank and ITC. Overall market breadth was mixed with 1,188 stocks advancing and 1,217 declining on the BSE.
 
Reliance Industries (rose 2.2 per cent), ICICI Bank (2.2 per cent) and TCS (2 per cent) made the biggest positive contribution to the Sensex gains.
All BSE sectoral indices ended with gains with the metal and power indices gaining the most at 5.7 per cent and 4 per cent respectively.