Domestic Markets ends with strong gains; Sensex jumps 424 points & Nifty tops 14,600 on RBI measures

Benchmark indices ended a volatile session with strong gains on Wednesday, May 5, 2021, after the RBI announced measures to tackle the rising second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. The S&P BSE Sensex rallied 424.04 points or 0.88 per cent to 48,677.55. The Nifty 50 index gained 121.35 points or 0.84 per cent to 14,617.85. The Nifty Bank index gained 513.35 points or 1.59 per cent and closed at 32,783.70.

In the broader markets, the S&P BSE MidCap index settled over 1.05 per cent higher while the S&P BSE SmallCap index gained 0.77 per cent.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 1,842 shares rose and 1,097 shares fell. On the Nifty 50 index, 44 shares gained while 5 shares fell and one remained unchanged. The top five gainers on Nifty were Sun Pharma (up 5.87 per cent), UPL (up 4.77 per cent), IndusInd Bank (up 2.52 per cent), Axis Bank (up 2.51 per cent) and Kotak Mahindra Bank (up 2.47 per cent). The top five losers were Adani Ports (down 3.61 per cent), Bajaj Finance (down 1.79 per cent), SBI Life (down 1.32 per cent), Asian Paints (down 0.60 per cent) and Hindustan Unilever (down 0.53 per cent).

COVID-19 update

Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide were at 15,43,66,761 with 32,27,887 deaths. India reported 34,87,229 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 2,26,188 deaths while 1,69,51,731 patients have been discharged, data showed.

India's Services Sector PMI

Growth in India's dominant services sector eased to a three-month low in April but remained unexpectedly resilient even as the COVID-19 crisis intensified and cost pressures rose at the fastest pace in over nine years, a private survey showed. The Nikkei/IHS Markit Services Purchasing Managers' Index fell to 54.0 last month from 54.6 in March, its lowest since January but still well above the 50-mark separating growth from contraction and outpacing expectations in a Reuters poll for a fall to 51.1.

US Economy

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Tuesday that interest rates may have to rise to keep a lid on the burgeoning growth of the US economy brought on in part by trillions of dollars in government stimulus spending. The former Fed chair later tempered her comments somewhat on the need for higher rates, saying she respects the Federal Reserve's independence and was not trying to influence decision-making there.