Market bulls charge ahead
Sensex gains 1,147 points, Nifty surges past 15,000
The Indian markets jumped for the third straight day on Wednesday as bond yield pressure eased and investors increased bets on a quicker economic revival, with vaccination progress and stimulus measures underpinning sentiment.
Posting its biggest single-day gain since February 2, the benchmark Sensex rose 1,147 points, or 2.3 per cent, to end the session at 51,444. The index is now less than 710 points, or 1.38 per cent shy of its previous all-time closing high of 52,154 on February 15.
The Nifty50 index rose 326 points, or 2.2 per cent, to end the session at 15,245. In the past three sessions, India’s market cap has jumped by over ~10 trillion.
All the Sensex components, barring three, ended the session with gains.
Bajaj Finserv was the best-performing Sensex stock, rising 5.2 per cent; Reliance Industries and Bajaj
Finance surged 4.5 per cent and 4.5 per cent, respectively. Reliance alone made a 281-point contribution to Sensex’s 1,148-point gain.
All the BSE sectoral indices, barring one, ended the sessions with gains. Energy and metal stocks gained the most, and their gauges rose 3.7 and 3.2 per cent, respectively.
Maruti, Bajaj Auto, and Mahindra & Mahindra were the only Sensex stocks to end the session with losses; they declined 1.3 per cent, 1.2 per cent, and 0.9 per cent, respectively. The rise in bond yields eased after central bankers across the world assured that their accommodative monetary policy would continue. Some regions, such as Australia, even increased bond purchases to keep a lid on borrowing costs.
“After last week’s shock, policymakers across the globe are easing everyone’s nerves. And there is no extra data at the moment to support inflation argument,” said Andrew Holland, CEO, Avendus Capital Alternate Strategies.
Surging bond yields had rattled the equity markets last week with the Sensex and the Nifty crashing 4 per cent on Friday. Investors were worried that the economic recovery and comfortable monetary conditions would fuel inflation, forcing central bankers to reconsider the easy monetary policy.
On Wednesday, the 10year US Treasury note traded at around 1.45 per cent after briefly slipping below 1.40 per cent. Last week, the yield had surged to as much as 1.61 per cent, triggering a flight to safety among investors.
However, foreign portfolio investors’ (FPIS’) appetite for risk has made a strong comeback. On Wednesday, they pumped in more than ~2,000 crore for a second straight day.
Experts said the $1.9-trillion stimulus package approved by the House of Representatives in the US and the promise of more relief measures by other nations have boosted confidence in an economic revival.