Bulls propel Sensex to reclaim 50K mark; Nifty above 14,800

Mumbai: Benchmark Sensex rallied by 1,128 points — its biggest single-day gain in nearly two months — to close at a two-week high on Tuesday as financials, IT and energy stocks advanced amid positive global cues.

Investor wealth surged Rs 6,02,001.9 crore in two days of market rally which was supported by positive global cues.

Extending its gains to the second consecutive session, the 30-share BSE index ended 1,128.08 points or 2.30 per cent higher at 50,136.58 - a level not seen since March 16.

The broader NSE Nifty also logged its biggest single-day spike since February 2 to settle at a nearly two-week high of 14,845.10, showing gains of 337.80 points or 2.33 per cent. As many as 46 of its constituents closed in the green.

"Domestic equities rebounded sharply today mainly led by strong buying in IT, metals, pharma and FMCG stocks. Barring realty, most of the key sectoral indices ended in the green today," Binod Modi, Head - Strategy at Reliance Securities, said.

Favourable cues from global markets also supported domestic rally despite the prevailing concern of sharp rise in COVID-19 cases in various parts of the country, he added.

HDFC Bank was the lead gainer among Sensex stocks, rising by 4.11 per cent. HCL Tech rose by 3.91 per cent, Infosys by 3.69 per cent and NTPC by 3.6 per cent.

Gains in Nestle India, HDFC, PowerGrid, TCS, HUL, Reliance and ICICI Bank also supported the rally.

On the other hand, M&M, Bharti Airtel and Axis Bank were the laggards.

All sectoral indices ended on a positive note with BSE IT, teck, metal, healthcare, FMCG, basic materials and finance indices rallying up to 3.51 per cent.

Broader midcap and smallcap indices surged up to 1.30 per cent.

Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Seoul ended on a positive note. Stock exchanges in Europe were also trading with significant gains in mid-session deals.

Moreover, The rupee slumped by 87 paise to close at 73.38 (provisional) against the US currency on Tuesday as rising crude oil prices and a strong American currency weighed on investor sentiment.

At the interbank forex market, the local unit opened at 72.85 against the greenback and traded in the range of 72.77-73.47 during the day.

The rupee finally ended at 73.38 against the American currency, registering a fall of 87 paise over its previous closing.

On Friday, the rupee had settled at 72.51 against the American currency.

The forex market was closed on Monday on account of Holi.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, advanced 0.20 per cent to 93.12.

"Indian Rupee depreciated amid strong dollar and rise in crude oil prices. Dollar gained strength amid surge in US treasury yields. Yields jumped on expectation that rollout of COVID-19 vaccines and government stimulus efforts will accelerate economic growth and inflation," said Saif Mukadam, Research Analyst, Sharekhan by BNP Paribas.

Meanwhile, the global oil benchmark Brent crude was trading 0.49 per cent lower at $64.60 per barrel.