INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
NEW DELHIl: Firm global cues helped domestic equity indices kick off Thursday's session on a positive note, however, telltale signs of
disastrous impact of lockdown on Indian businesses capped gains.
Startups have warned that a flood of pink slips are coming while deal
making plunged 31 per cent in the March quarter
Meanwhile, the World Bank expects remittances to South Asia will drop 22 per cent this year, underscoring the economic distress stemming
from the Covid-19 pandemic.
At 9.30 am, BSE flagship Sensex was up 156 points at 31,535 while NSE benchmark Nifty added 69 points to 9,249
Broader market indices were faring better than their headline peers as Nifty Smallcap jumped 1.38 per cent while Nifty Midcap dropped 1.48
Nifty 500 was up 0.56 per cent.
Among bluechip stocks, ONGC, which has been on a losing streak amid plunging crude oil prices, jumped over 3
per cent to Rs 69 while Kotak Mahindra Bank, Tata Steel and ICICI Bank gained more than a per cent each.
Jewellery maker Titan was the
biggest loser in the 30-share pack Sensex, down 2.65 per cent to Rs 927, while M-M, Maruti Suzuki and Nestle India dropped over a per
cent.
Britannia Industries, which is set to come out with its quarterly numbers later in the day, gained 4.66 per cent to Rs 3,089 on BSE
It is likely to post single-digit profit growth in Q4 as the quarter was partially marred by the rise in raw material prices, outbreak of
coronavirus pandemic amid consumption slowdown.
All sectors on NSE traded with gains with Nifty Media jumping over 4 per cent
This comes on top of nealy 7 per cent jump on Wednesday
Nifty Realty, Nifty Bank, Nifty IT and Nifty Pharma are among others that registered gains.
Globally, Asian stock markets rose as the
combination of a rebound in crude prices from historic lows and the promise of more US government aid to cushion the coronavirus-ravaged
economy helped calm nervous markets.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia Pacific shares outside of Japan bounced from two-week lows to be up 0.5
per cent at 460.43 points.
Australian S-P/ASX added 0.4 per cent, Chinese shares opened firm with the blue-chip index up 0.3 per cent
Japan's Nikkei climbed 0.8 per cent.
The gains followed a strong overnight lead from Wall Street with the Dow up 2 per cent, S-P 500 adding
2.3 per cent and Nasdaq rising 2.8 per cent.