Investors are counting on the opening of the vaccination centers to all adults from May 1 to help accelerate India’s vaccination drive, which is considered the only way to stem the rise in cases going ahead and preventing a third wave in the country.
For the day, the Nifty50 index ended 1.4 per cent, or 211.5 points, higher at 14,864.6, while Sensex closed at 49,733.8, up 1.6 per cent or 789.7 points.
In the broader market, Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 index ended 1.1 per cent and 0.6 per cent higher, respectively.
Here are the major movers in today’s session:
Banks soar on short covering
Shares of lenders saw large gains aided by covering of short positions by traders in the futures and options segment ahead of the expiry of April derivative series on Thursday. Nifty Bank surged 3 per cent led by gains in
, SBI, IndusInd Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank.
rising on benign outlook
The non-bank lender’s comments that its long-term guidance on several metrics will be unaffected by the second wave of COVID-19 infections in the country eased investors’ concerns. The company’s positive outlook on its digital transformation and its stable asset quality also buttressed investor optimism. The stock closed 8.6 per cent higher.
Britannia falls over muted earnings
The lower-than-expected March quarter earnings performance by Britannia led to the company’s stock falling nearly 2 per cent and ending the day as the worst Nifty performer. Brokerage firm CLSA downgraded the stock to underperform as it raised concerns over the company’s ability to match operating margin performance of 2020-21.
Over 100 stocks give buy signals
As many as 141 stocks listed on the National Stock Exchange gave a buy signal based on MACD indicators. Names included YES Bank, PNB, Bank of Baroda, Deepak Nitrite and Hindustan Copper.
What’s ahead for the market?
Traders aggressively bought out-of-money Call options of Nifty50 expiring next week suggesting that they expect today’s gains to sustain in the coming week. In the futures segment, traders covered their short positions in the Nifty50’s April contract as Open Interest fell 1.7 per cent.
“Markets will first react to the FOMC meet outcome in early trade on Thursday and then focus would shift to the monthly derivatives expiry and earnings. Traders should maintain extra focus on the selection of stocks and prefer hedged bets, especially for the overnight trades,” said Ajit Mishra, vice president research at Religare Broking.
