Sensex rises 499 points to close at 35,414 as financial stocks shine; Nifty ends above 10,400

(Representative image)

NEW DELHI: Equity indices finished higher on Wednesday with the benchmark BSE sensex rising nearly 500 points led by gains in financial stocks, amid positive global cues.
The 30-share BSE index surged 499 points or 1.43 per cent to finish at 35,414; while the broader NSE Nifty closed 128 points or 1,24 per cent higher at 10,430.
Top gainers in the sensex pack included Axis Bank, Bajaj FinServe, ITC, HDFC, Bajaj Finance and IndusInd Bank with their stocks rising up to 6.40 per cent.
While NTPC, L&T, Nestle India, M&M, Kotak Bank and Sun Pharma were the top losers falling as much as 2.14 per cent.
On the NSE platform, sub-indices Nifty PSU Bank, Private Bank, Financial Services and Bank gained up to 3.63 per cent.
According to traders, local indices followed gains in global benchmarks which rallied on positive macroeconomic numbers indicating recovery in world economies.
“Post the initial pick up in the market seen after the economy reopened, it is going to remain in a range as pent up demand looks set to run out,” Neeraj Dewan, director at Quantum Securities told news agency Reuters.
“For now, global liquidity is helping the market … but all indications are that the economy will take longer than anticipated to recover,” he added.
India recorded a current account surplus of $0.6 billion or 0.1 per cent of GDP (gross domestic product) for the January-March quarter against a deficit of $4.6 billion or 0.7 per cent of GDP in the year-ago period, the Reserve Bank said on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the fiscal deficit during the first two months of the current financial year widened to Rs 4.66 lakh crore or 58.6 per cent of the budget estimates mainly on account of poor tax collection due to coronavirus-induced lockdown.
On the currency front, the rupee settled 9 paise lower at 75.60 (provisional) against the US dollar as concerns over rising COVID-19 cases weighed on investor sentiment even as the domestic equity market was trading in the positive territory.
According to health ministry data, coronavirus cases in India jumped by more than 18,000 to over 585,490, including more than 17,400 deaths.
(With agency inputs)