All the BSE sectoral indices are trading in the green, with Banking, FMCG, oil and metal indices gaining 1-2 per cent each.
Oil hits 13-month lows as coronavirus cut Chinese demand and sparked fears of supply cuts by OPEC
The benchmark indices were going strong in noon trades, due to the return of stability on the Asian Street and slide in crude oil prices. The Asian markets, including Hang Seng, Nikkei, Straits Times and Taiwan indices, gained around 1 per cent each, while the Chinese markets eked out gains of half a per cent on hopes that share prices would quickly regain lost ground after the virus gets contained within manageable limits. Oil also hit 13-month lows; brent crude settled down $2.17, or 3.8 per cent at $54.45 a barrel, as the outbreak of coronavirus curtailed Chinese demand and sparked concerns of potential supply cuts by OPEC.
At 12:30 pm, the Sensex was quoting at 40,628, higher by 750 points or 1.8 per cent and the Nifty was at 11,935, up 228 points or 1.9 per cent. The broader markets were also trading on a strong footing; the BSE Midcap index gained 1.4 per cent at 15,507 and Smallcap index added 1.3 per cent at 14,557.
All the BSE sectoral indices are trading in the green, with the sole exception of the telecom index. Banking, FMCG, oil and metal indices are leading from the front, with gains of 1-2 per cent each.
The Sensex had closed higher by 137 points or 0.3 per cent at 39,872 and Nifty had settled at 11,707, up 46 points or 0.3 per cent. And with the strength being witnessed today, the Sensex seems to be on track to erase the budget day fall of 988 points.
The Hang Seng, Nikkei, Straits Times and Taiwan indices have gained around 1 per cent each, while the Chinese markets have also eked out gains of half a per cent on hopes that there would be a repeat of what happened during the Sars outbreak in 2002-03, when share prices quickly regained all lost ground after the virus was contained within manageable limits.
US stocks had rallied overnight, boosted by surprise strength in manufacturing activity, following a sharp sell-off last week on concerns about the economic impact of coronavirus. The Dow Jones rose 143 points or 0.5 per cent to 28,399, Nasdaq Composite added 122 points or 1.3 per cent to 9,273 and S&P 500 gained 23 points or 0.7 per cent to 3,248.
Back home, the markets would be factoring the monetary policy review, which is due to be announced on Thursday. The general view among analysts is that the central bank would maintain a status quo on the repo-rate front, on February 6, due to the continuing inflationary pressures.
On the results front, Bharti Airtel, Tata Global Beverages, Thermax, Titan Company, JSW Energy and Punjab National Bank will be releasing their Q3 earnings during the course of the day.
On the stock-specific front, index heavyweights such as Reliance Industries, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Tata Steel, ITC and Hero Motocorp gallopped by more than 3 per cent on the BSE.
On the other hand, Bharti Airtel had edged lower by 0.4 per cent to Rs 508 ahead of its Q3 numbers. Bajaj Auto and Hindustan Unilever were also trading in the negative.
The market breadth was strong. Out of 2,172 stocks traded on the BSE, there were 1,476 advancing stocks as against 579 declines.
