Sensex spurts 750 pts; IT, metal stocks in demand

Key equity indices further extended gains and hit the day's high in mid-afternoon trade. At 14:24 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, spurted 750.88 points or 1.48% to 51,482.51. The Nifty 50 index added 222.25 points or 1.49% to 15,146.50. IT and metal shares firmed up while FMCG and PSU banks declined.

The broader market outperformed the benchmark indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 1.48%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 1.60%.

Buyers outpaced sellers. On the BSE, 1733 shares rose and 1231 shares fell. A total of 199 shares were unchanged.

Domestic shares were boosted by positive global cues. The rise in global risk-assets was induced by improving COVID-19 trends and statement from treasury secretary Janet Yellen, pushing for a stimulus bill. The comments from the treasury secretary came after weaker-than-expected U.S. jobs data on Friday highlighted the case for further stimulus.

Numbers to Track:

In the foreign exchange market, the partially convertible rupee appreciated to 72.885 compared with its previous closing of 72.93.

The yield on 10-year benchmark federal paper fell to 6.046% from its previous closing of 6.071%.

MCX Gold futures for 5 April 2021 settlement shed 0.10% to Rs 47,211.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, rose 0.09% to 91.12.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for April 2021 settlement added 85 cents to $60.19 a barrel. The contract added 0.85% or 50 cents to settle at $59.34 in the previous trading session.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty IT index rose 2.71% to 26,019.05. The index declined 1.36% in the past two sessions.

Info Edge India (up 6.40%), Coforge (up 4.98%), Mphasis (up 3.39%), MindTree (up 3.20%), Tech Mahindra (up 3.11%), Infosys (up 2.50%), Wipro (up 2.40%), TCS (up 2.06%) and HCL Tech (up 1.71%) advanced.

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