Sensex surges 1,265.66 points, Nifty ends above 9000; Maruti Suzuki, M&M, Cipla major gainers

New Delhi: Equity benchmark indices on Thursday (April 9) ended higher amid hopes of another stimulus package from the government in the coming days. The Sensex closed up 1,265.66 points or 4.23% at 31159.62, while the broader Nifty also ended up 363.15 points or 4.15% at 9,111.90. Major gainers on the Nifty were Maruti Suzuki, M&M, Cipla, Tata Motors and Titan Company while HUL, Tech Mahindra, Dr Reddy's Lab, and IndusInd Bank were the top laggards.

During early hours on Thursday, equity indices in line with Asian peers after Wall Street`s overnight rally with investors hoping that coronavirus pandemic in the United States was nearing its peak. At 10:15 am, the BSE Sensex was up by 785 points or 2.62 per cent at 30,679 while the Nifty 50 edged higher by 245 points or 2.8 per cent at 8,993. 

All sectoral indices at the National Stock Exchange were in the green with Nifty pharma up by 5.6 per cent, auto by 4.8 per cent, metal by 4.1 per cent and private bank by 3.7 per cent. Among stocks, Cipla jumped by 14 per cent to Rs 584.50 per share after it got final approval for a key abbreviated new drug application from the US Food and Drug Administration. 

Tata Motors was up by 9.9 per cent to Rs 74.35 per share while metal majors JSW Steel and Vedanta gained by 8 per cent and 6.9 per cent respectively.The other prominent winners were Hero MotoCorp, Kotak Mahindra Bank, HDFC and GAIL. However, Hindustan Lever was down by 1.6 per cent.

Meanwhile, global shares rose today on hopes the COVID-19 pandemic was nearing a peak and that governments would roll out more stimulus to support their economies. European stock markets gained for a fourth straight day, with investor attention also focused on a meeting of European Union finance ministers to discuss an economic rescue package.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index was up 1.7%, with battered travel and leisure stocks, autos, and mining companies leading early gains. MSCI`s All-Country World Index, which tracks shares across 49 countries, was up 0.5% to its highest since March 12. US stock futures were up 1% after bouncing in and out of positive territory in Asia.

In Asia, MSCI`s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 1.56%, following a strong Wall Street close.
Shares in China, where the novel coronavirus first emerged late last year, rose 0.42%. Australian shares were up 2.54%.

Oil prices extended gains on hopes major producers would agree to cut output when they met later in the day in response to a collapse in global oil demand.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said the state`s efforts at social distancing were working in getting the virus under control in one of the biggest hot spots in the United States.

US President Donald Trump said he would like to reopen the US economy with a "big bang" but that the death toll from the coronavirus first needs to be heading down. The S&P 500 gained 3.41% on Wednesday, helped by hopes the pandemic was nearing its peak.

Japan`s Nikkei stock index bucked the regional trend and fell 0.46% as coronavirus infections in the country rose. Markets were also jittery following the government`s declaration of a state of emergency for Tokyo and other urban areas.

Meanwhile, the euro gained against the dollar and the pound on hopes eurozone finance ministers would agree on more support for their coronavirus-hit economies.

Sterling held onto gains versus the dollar. Helping confidence was news British Prime Minister Boris Johnson`s condition was improving. Johnson, who was diagnosed with COVID-19 late in March, was taken to intensive care two days ago after his condition deteriorated.

Against a basket of its peers, the dollar fell 0.1%. US crude rose 5.3% to $26.42 a barrel. Brent crude rose 3% to $33.83 per barrel.

(With Agency Inputs)