MUMBAI: The gains in shares of big companies like Reliance Industries, ICICI Bank and Kotak Bank on Tuesday amid a positive trend in the global markets put the brakes on the decline in the stock markets for seven trading sessions and the Sensex jumped by 480 points.
In a highly volatile business, the 30-share Sensex closed at 38,623.70 points, a gain of 479.68 points or 1.26 per cent on the Bombay Stock Exchange. 28 of the 30 Sensex shares were profitable. Similarly, the National Stock Exchange’s Nifty gained 170.55 points or 1.53 percent to 11,303.30 points. Among the Sensex companies, Sun Pharma, Tata Steel, ONGC, UltraTech Cement, NTPC and PowerGrid were among the gainers.
On the other hand, ITC and HDFC Bank shares declined. The Reserve Bank said earlier in the day that it was monitoring the domestic situation caused by the deadly corona virus besides global. The central bank said that it is ready to take necessary steps to ensure smooth functioning of the financial markets.
Global markets were also up on expectation from policy makers. China’s Shanghai Composite and South Korea’s Cospi were in profit. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng and Japan’s Nikki came down. European markets opened up two percent in early trade. Brent crude oil futures were up 2.93 percent at $ 53.42 a barrel. During the day trading in the inter-bank foreign exchange market, the rupee was down 40 paise to 73.16 per dollar.