The Indian benchmark indices made significant gains for the third straight day on Thursday to reverse most of the massive losses of the last seven sessions amid the spreading Covid-19 pandemic. However, the end-of-day gains were lower than they were at mid-day, as investors were not impressed much by the Indian government’s relief measures to tackle the pandemic, Reuters reported.
The BSE Sensex closed the day 1,410.99 points higher than Wednesday’s close, at 29,946.77, while the National Stock Exchange Nifty 50 ended at 8,641.45, after rising 323.60 points. The Sensex gained 4.9%, and the Nifty 50 was up 3.9%. The Sensex had risen up to a high of 30,099.91 points earlier in the day.
Both indices were up nearly 5% when Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman began her press briefing to announce a Rs 1.7-lakh-crore relief package. Soon after, they were up just 2.6%. Neeraj Dewan, director at analyst Quantum Securities, told Reuters that the measures were necessary but the markets were expecting something for companies, smaller enterprises and stock markets.
On Monday, the markets had seen a bloodbath, falling to their worst crash ever, but began recovering the next day. They rose about 2.6% on Tuesday, and 7% on Wednesday, as the government appeared to promise a financial package to overcome the imminent crisis due to Covid-19.
IndusInd Bank, Bharti Airtel, Larsen & Toubro and Bajaj Finance were among the stocks that made the biggest gains on both indices on Thursday. The stocks that lost on the Sensex were Maruti Suzuki, Tech Mahindra, Sun Pharma and Reliance Industries. On the Nifty 50, the top losers were GAIL, HCL Technologies, Sun Pharma, Tata Steel and Tech Mahindra.
The Indian rupee was at Rs 75.20 per dollar against the previous closing of Rs 75.88.
Limited-time offer: Big stories, small price. Keep independent media alive. Become a Scroll member today!
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!