Sensex jumps by 3.25 per cent, Axis Bank rises by nearly 14 per cent

D-Street observed positive sentiments as Nifty gained by 3.17 per cent or 285.90 points to close at 9,314.95 levels while Sensex rallied by 995.92 points which is 3.25 per cent higher than its previous close to reach 31,605.22 levels. The markets have witnessed heavy short-covering a day before the expiry of monthly derivatives.

Sensex gains were primarily led by banking and IT stocks. Axis Bank's shares rose by nearly 14 per cent to close at Rs 387.35 on BSE after receiving reports that Private Equity firm Carlyle was considering picking around 8 per cent stake in the lender.

Other Sensex gainers comprised ICICI Bank soaring by 8.97 per cent, HDFC Bank closing in green, up by 5.91 per cent, Bajaj Finance increasing by 5.84 per cent, IndusInd Bank gaining by 5.84 per cent, Infosys rising by 3.70 per cent, SBI gaining by 4.76 per cent, TCS increasing by 3.18 per cent, etc.

Sensex losers consist of Sun Pharmaceuticals declining by 1.85 per cent upon the news of the company reporting a fall of 37 per cent in its Q4FY20 profits, Ultratech Cement decreasing by 1.42 per cent, Titan Company declining by 0.71 per cent, Asian Paints that fell by 0.62 per cent, Maruti which declined by 0.10 per cent and Power Grid that fell by 0.03 per cent.

At a broad level, BSE MidCap and BSE SmallCap indices underperformed gaining by 0.54 per cent and 0.27 per cent respectively. BSE Bankex was the highest sectoral gainer, rallying by 7.31 per cent followed by BSE Finance index and BSE IT index both closing in green, up by 5.64 per cent and 3 per cent respectively.

BSE Healthcare index was the only index closing in negative territory amongst all of BSE sectoral indices and declined by 0.84 per cent.

Enticed by a fresh stimulus plan for the European Union, the European indices were seen trading in green with CAC40, DAX and FTSE 100 gaining by 2 per cent, 1.90 per cent and 1.43 per cent respectively.