Sensex, Nifty Extend Gains Led By Rally In Banking Shares

The S&P BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty 50 indexes extended gains in early noon deals, led by a rally in banking, auto, financial services, power and metal stocks. The Sensex rose as much as 558 points and Nifty 50 index moved above its important psychological level of 11,200. ICICI Bank, HDFC, Reliance Industries, Axis Bank, Bajaj Finance and Kotak Mahindra Bank were among the major movers, collectively adding over 200 points to the Sensex.

At 11:49 am, the Sensex was up 1.18 per cent or 442 points at 37,831 and Nifty was at 11,187, up 137 points.

Nine of 11 sector gauges compiled by the National Stock Exchange were trading higher, led by the Nifty Media index's over 4 per cent gain. Banking shares were also witnessing strong buying interest. The Nifty Bank index rose nearly 3 per cent after the Supreme Court allowed the government one more week to come up with a plan on loan moratorium to ease the financial burden on borrowers during the coronavirus crisis. The Nifty Private Bank, PSU Bank, Metal, Auto, Financial Services and FMCG indexes also rose 1-3 per cent each.

On the other hand, the Nifty IT index was top loser, down 0.24 per cent.

ONGC was top Nifty gainer; the stock climbed 6 per cent to Rs 73. IndusInd Bank, Bajaj Finance, Tata Motors, Adani Ports, Axis Bank, GAIL Inida, Hindalco, Power Grid and ICICI Bank also rose 3-5 per cent each.

On the flip side, Cipla, Infosys, Divis Labs, TCS, Wipro, HUL and Nestle India were among the notable losers.

The overall market breadth was positive as 1,759 shares were advancing while 603 were declining on the BSE.