Equities rebound as central banks move to mitigate economic impact of coronavirus

Equity benchmark indices closed in the green with handsome gains on Tuesday lifted by expectations that major central banks will take measures to mitigate the economic impact of coronavirus outbreak that has spread to 60 countries and killed more than 3,000 people.

The Reserve Bank of Australia announced 25 basis points interest rate cut as global finance ministers and central bankers spoke about coordinating the financial and economic response to COVID-19.

The Reserve Bank of India too said it is monitoring global and domestic developments closely and continuously. It stands ready to take appropriate actions to ensure orderly functioning of financial markets, maintain market confidence and preserve financial stability,

At the closing bell, the BSE S & P Sensex was up by 480 points or 1.26 per cent to 38,624 while the Nifty 50 edged higher by 171 points or 1.71 per cent at 11,303.

All sectoral indices at the National Stock Exchange were in the green.

Metal stocks witnessed substantial gains with the Nifty index up by 5.6 per cent. The top gainers included Vedanta which gained by 8.3 per cent at Rs 120.20 per share. Hindalco Industries jumped by 6.9 per cent followed by Tata Steel and JSW Steel.

The Nifty pharma too also added gains of 5.1 per cent led by Sun Pharma which ticked up by 7.2 per cent. The other gainers included Cipla, Dr Reddy's, Piramal Enterprises, Lupin and Biocon.

Meanwhile, most Asian markets gained amid overnight surge on Wall Street and hopes central banks will potentially take action to combat the economic impact of coronavirus outbreak.

The Shanghai Composite was up 0.74 per cent and South Korea's Kospi was up 0.58 per cent. However, the Nikkei 225 in Japan was down by 1.2 per cent.

Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average soared 1,294 points higher to close at 26,703 while the Nasdaq Composite surged 4.5 per cent to close at 8,952.

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