Extending its speedy recovery for the third straight session, equity benchmark Sensex surged by another 1,411 points on Thursday, 26 March, after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a stimulus package worth Rs 1.70 lakh crore to cushion the impact of the coronavirus lockdown in the country.
Similarly, the NSE Nifty finished 323.60 points, or 3.89 percent, up at 8,641.45.
IndusInd Bank was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rallying up to 46 percent. Other winners were Bharti Airtel, L&T, Bajaj Finance, Kotak Mahindra, Bajaj Auto, HUL and HDFC – rising up to 10 percent.
On the other hand, Maruti Suzuki, Tech Mahindra, Sun Pharma and Reliance Industries closed with losses.
In an effort to cushion the economic blow of the 21-day lockdown in wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, Finance Minister Sitharaman announced a slew of measures to help citizens survive the crisis.
The scheme will be implemented with immediate effect.
“This is a package for lockdown impacted segments,” said VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services, adding that the government is prioritising.
According to traders, volatility remained during the day as March derivatives contracts expired.
The Indian rupee appreciated 57 paise to 75.37 against the US dollar in intra-day trade. Meanwhile, bourses in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Seoul ended significantly lower. Benchmarks in Europe were also trading in the red.
The number of COVID-19 cases climbed to 649 in India and the death toll rose to 13, with one death reported each from Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Madhya Pradesh, according to the Health Ministry.
(With inputs from BloombergQuint.)
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