Bulls take charge ahead of ‘Good Friday holiday

On Thursday, bulls were again seen establishing their dominance in D-Street as Sensex surged by 4.23 per cent, which is by 1,265.66 points to close at the level of 31,159.62. Nifty also gained by four per cent or 354 points to end the trading week at the level of 9,102.75.

Investor sentiments were boosted as the global stock markets indices were green with the hopes of globally receiving more government stimulus as well as undertaking aggressive lockdowns to combat the spread of virus globally. Asian indices-Shanghai and KOSPI rose by 0.37 per cent and 1.61 per cent while, European indices-FTSE 100 and DAX were trading in green, up by 0.98 per cent and 0.53 per cent, respectively.

As for the domestic markets, a boost from Government of India is expected to aid in revival of the shaken economy. A possible extension of the current nationwide lockdown can put more pressure on businesses and hence, a hefty support from the centre is eagerly awaited to help especially the small and medium enterprises. It is believed that the worst is about to be over as a decline in fresh COVID-19 cases being reported is seen and also, it is expected that the spread of the virus will reach its peak soon before witnessing a sharp decline. In the month of March, India VIX moved up significantly by 302.8 per cent from 17.76 to 71.53 levels due to Coronavirus concerns and CBOE VIX. India VIX moved to its 11-year high hence, asserting that the markets may continue to remain volatile for quite some time. Additionally, an output cut in oil is expected with the collapse in demand for oil, globally.

Sensex top gainers consisted of M&M, which went up by 16.74 per cent as CRISIL reaffirmed its ratings on the debt programmes and bank facilities of M&M, followed by automaker Maruti, which was up by 13.16 per cent. Others included in the list are Titan, Hero MotoCorp, Bajaj Finance, HDFC, Bharti Airtel and ONGC with their stocks rising by 11.12 per cent, 9.65 per cent, 9.32 per cent, 9.29 per cent, 6.26 per cent and 4.11 per cent, respectively.

Sensex losers include Nestle, Tech Mahindra and HUL dropping by 0.03 per cent, 2.57 per cent and 3.49 per cent, respectively. IndusInd Bank that was seen trading in green in the past few sessions closed in red today, declining by 0.83 per cent.

Amongst sectoral indices, auto index gained the most and was up by 10.26 per cent, followed by telecom, bankex and metal rising by 5.72 per cent, 5.56 per cent and 5.13 per cent, respectively. In the current situation, pharma and healthcare continued to enjoy a rise in demand as well as new formulations, causing the healthcare index to rise by 3.78 per cent. On account of Good Friday, Indian stock markets will remain closed for trading on Friday, i.e. April 10, 2020.