Markets score second weekly gain on easing lockdown; Sensex up nearly 1%

Equities rose, with the benchmark index scoring a second week of gains, as Asia’s third-biggest economy continued easing a nationwide lockdown.

The Sensex Index advanced 0.9 per cent while and NSE Nifty 50 Index rose 1.1 per cent at the close in Mumbai. Both gauges rose for a seventh day in eight to close at their highest levels in almost three months. For the week, both indexes advanced about 6 per cent each.

“There will be an increase in consumption because of the pent up demand during the lockdown,” said Deven Choksey, a strategist at KRChoksey Investment Managers in Mumbai. “We are