STOCKS SNAP 7-DAY FALL ON HOPES OF POLICY ACTION TO CONTAIN CORONAVIRUS IMPACT

Rupee breaches 73-mark, dives 47 paise against US dollar

MUMBAI: Snapping its sevenday falling streak, BSE Sensex rallied 480 points on Tuesday in line with gains in global stocks after central banks assured of policy measures to mitigate the economic impact of coronavirus outbreak.

After a highly volatile session, the 30-share benchmark index surged 479.68 points or 1.26 per cent to end at 38,623.70 with 28 of its constituents ending in green.

The broader NSE Nifty jumped 170.55 points or 1.53 per cent to close at 11,303.30 led by gains in metal and pharma stocks.

Among Sensex stocks, Sun Pharma rose the most by 6.64 per cent amid export restrictions imposed by the government on 26 pharma ingredients and medicines to boost local supplies.

Tata Steel, ONGC, Ultratech Cement, NTPC, Powergrid, Reliance, Kotak Bank and HCL

Tech were among the major gainers.

On the other hand, ITC and HDFC Bank ended in the red.

Domestic market sentiment got a boost after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said it was ready to take necessary action to ensure orderly functioning of financial markets.

Broader BSE midcap and smallcap indices rallied up to 1.75 per cent.

All the sectoral indices closed in green with BSE Metal rising the most by 5.67 per cent following gains in Tata Steel and

Vedanta Ltd. BSE Power jumped 3.99 per cent led by gains in NTPC and Powergrid. BSE Utilities rose by 3.93 per cent while BSE Healthcare gained 3.77 per cent following a rise in Sun Pharma and Dr Reddy's.

Oil & Gas and Basic Materials also rose by more than 3 per cent. BSE IT, metal, energy, auto and realty indices also rallied up to 2.52 per cent.

Market breadth was positive as 1,234 scrips advanced while 1,165 stocks dropped on BSE. As many as 157 scrips were unchanged.

Brent crude oil futures rose 2.93 per cent to $53.42 per barrel.

On the currency front, the rupee on Tuesday slumped 47 paise to 73.23 (provisional) against the US dollar, as investor sentiment remained fragile amid concerns over the impact of coronavirus.

Forex traders said the Indian rupee which started the day on a positive note witnessed heavy volatility during the session and finally settled below 73 per US dollar level as uncertainty over coronavirus spooked investors.

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local currency opened at 72.50. During the day it saw a high of 72.43 and a low of 73.34 against the American currency.

Bourses in Shanghai and Seoul ended on a positive note while Hong Kong and Tokyo settled with losses. Stock exchanges in Europe opened up to 2 per cent higher.