PM Modi said strict stay-at-home orders will be extended beyond May 17 with a new set of rules.
Mumbai, May 13:
Domestic stock markets started Wednesday’s session with strong gains a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced fiscal and monetary support worth Rs 20 lakh crore to support an economy battered by the ongoing nationwide lockdown to curb the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. The S&P BSE Sensex index opened 1,470.75 points – or 4.69 per cent – higher at 32,841.87, whereas the broader NSE Nifty 50 benchmark started the day at 9,584.20, up 387.65 points (4.22 per cent) from the previous close. Gains across most sectors barring information technology pushed the markets higher, led by a strong buying interest in financial and automobile stocks.
The markets, however, gave up half of those early gains in the first few minutes of trade. At 9:27 am, the Sensex traded up 777.68 points – or 2.48 per cent – at 32,148.80 while the Nifty was at 9,419.10, up 222.55 points (2.42 per cent) compared to the previous close.
In his address to the nation late on Tuesday, the Prime Minister said the package was equivalent to 10 per cent of the country’s gross domestic product, and was aimed at the multitudes out of work and the businesses reeling under the prolonged shutdown.
Details of the new package will be provided within days by the Finance Minister, and reforms of land and labour markets will also be released, PM Modi said.
In March, the government had announced around Rs 1.7 lakh crore in direct cash transfers and food security measures for the poor.
PM Modi also said strict stay-at-home orders will be extended beyond May 17 with a new set of rules.
Equities elsewhere in Asia were listless following losses in the US markets, with MSCI’s broadest index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan up 0.06 per cent in early trade. Japan’s Nikkei 225, China’s Shanghai Composite and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng indices were down 0.77 per cent, 0.21 per cent and 0.16 per cent at the time respectively.
Overnight in the US, the S&P 500 benchmark index shed 2.05 per cent, whereas the Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq Composite indices fell 1.89 per cent and 2.06 per cent respectively.
The E-Mini S&P 500 futures were last seen down 0.10 per cent in morning, indicating a weak start for Wall Street on Wednesday.
On Tuesday, the Sensex had ended 190.10 points – or 0.60 per cent – lower at 31,371.12 and the Nifty settled at 9,196.55, down 42.65 points – or 0.46 per cent – compared to the previous close, as the markets extended losses to a second straight day.
