Covid deaths reach record 3,780 in last 24 hours, as rupee opens flat against dollar
Sensex rose over 200 points in early trade on Wednesday, tracking gains in index majors HDFC Bank, Reliance Industries and Infosys, ahead of the Reserve Bank chief’s speech, even as Covid infections and deaths spiraled across the country, with 3,780 fresh fatalities and 3,82,315 new cases, the highest in a single day, according to Wednesday’s Union Health Ministry update.
Meanwhile, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das has announced he will make an unscheduled announcement in the morning.
The Indian rupee opened on a flat note and advanced by 5 paise to 73.80 against the dollar in opening trade on Wednesday as investors focused on RBI Governor’s speech.
On Tuesday, the rupee had settled at 73.85 against the American currency. The dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, fell 0.09 per cent to 91.20.
The 30-share BSE index jumped 266.09 points or 0.55 per cent to 48,519.60 in initial deals. Similarly, NSE Nifty advanced 81.45 points or 0.56 per cent to 14,577.95.
ONGC was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, gaining over 2 per cent, followed by NTPC, IndusInd Bank, Bharti Airtel, Titan, Axis Bank and UltraTech Cement.
On the other hand, HDFC, Nestle India and HUL were among laggards.
In the previous session, Sensex ended 465.01 points or 0.95 per cent lower at 48,253.51, and Nifty slumped 137.65 points or 0.94 per cent to 14,496.50.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital market as they offloaded shares worth Rs 1,772.37 crore on Tuesday, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) purchased shares worth Rs 987.34 crore, according to provisional exchange data.
“The RBI Governor’s announcement on Wednesday is likely to influence markets, particularly certain segments like banking. Relief to MSMEs and retail borrowers might positively impact banks, which have a higher proportion of such loans. The rally in PSU banks on Tuesday may be in anticipation of this,” said V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services.
The market is presently caught between fear from the economic fallout of the second wave of the pandemic, and hope arising from the flattening of the Covid-19 curve, he said, adding it will take some more time for clarity to emerge on which of the two will have a higher impact on markets.
“Going by the experiences of countries that went through the second wave, like the UK, hope will triumph over fear. GDP and earnings growth in the first quarter of financial year 2022 will take a hit, but is likely to recover in subsequent quarters,” he noted.
Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Hong Kong were trading flat in mid-session deals, while Seoul, Shanghai and Tokyo were closed for holidays.
Equities on Wall Street ended on a negative note in overnight trade.
Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude was trading 2.61 per cent higher at USD 69.32 per barrel.