Sensex Gains Over 400 Points, Nifty Above 14,500

The domestic stock markets have rebounded around 1 per cent, post the nearly 2 per cent correction witnessed in the previous session, on the back of value buying at lower levels. At 9:18 am, the BSE Sensex was at 48,369.45, higher by 441.95 points or 0.92 per cent and the NSE Nifty was at 14,503.55 points, up 143.65 points or 0.96 per cent.

The broader markets are outperforming their largecap counterparts, with the BSE Midcap index and BSE Smallcap index gaining 1.7 per cent and 1.5 per cent respectively. All the BSE sectoral indices are trading in the green, with the exception of the IT space.

Asian markets were mixed in the morning of April 20 as investors await the release of China’s latest benchmark lending rate. Stocks in Japan led losses among the region’s major markets, with the Nikkei 225 falling 1.31 per cent, while the Topix index shed 1.22 per cent. South Korea’s Kospi gained 0.11 per cent, while the S&P/ASX 200 in Australia declined 0.14 per cent.

U.S. stocks closed lower on Monday, slipping from last week’s record levels, as investors awaited guidance from first-quarter earnings to justify high valuations, while Tesla Inc shares fell after a fatal car crash. The Dow Jones fell 0.36 per cent, the S&P 500 lost 0.53 per cent and Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.98 per cent.

Meanwhile, oil prices edged higher on Monday supported by a weaker U.S. dollar, but gains were capped by concerns about the impact on demand from rising coronavirus cases in India.

Brent crude settled up 28 cents, or 0.4 per cent, at $67.05 a barrel, after rising 6 per cent last week. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) U.S. oil ended the session up 25 cents, or 0.4 per cent, at $63.38 a barrel, having gained 6.4 per cent last week.

Select financial and auto stocks are witnessing buying interest this morning. Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, IndusInd Bank and HDFC Life have gained between 2.3 per cent and 3.5 per cent on the BSE. In the auto space, M&M, Bajaj Auto and Maruti Suzuki have gained 2-3 per cent each on the BSE. 

On the other hand, information technology stocks are seeing selling pressure, with HCL Tech, Tech Mahindra, Wipro and TCS shedding up to a per cent each on the BSE.