Domestic Markets surged more than 2%; Sensex zoomed 1128 points & Nifty 50 closed at 14,845

Domestic equity benchmarks ended with robust gains on Tuesday, mirroring firm global stocks. The S&P BSE Sensex soared 1128.08 points or 2.30 per cent to 50,136.56. The Nifty 50 index surged 337.80 points or 2.33 per cent to 14,845.10. Likewise, Nifty Bank gained 556.90 points or 1.67 per cent to close at 33,875.10.

The broader market also gained. On the BSE, the Mid-Cap index rose 0.98 per cent and the Small-Cap index rose 1.30 per cent.

Buyers outpaced sellers. On the BSE, 1,562 shares rose and 1,392 shares fell. On the Nifty 50 index, 46 shares advanced and 4 shares declined. The top five gainers on Nifty were UPL (up 7.59 per cent), JSW Steel (up 4.98 per cent), Shree Cement (up 4.92 per cent), Tata Steel (up 4.26 per cent) and Wipro (up 3.91 per cent). The four losers were Hindalco (down 0.32 per cent), Axis Bank (down 0.20 per cent), M&M (down 0.14 per cent) and Bharti Airtel (down 0.03 per cent).

Nazara Technologies made a bumper market debut on Tuesday, as the shares listed at Rs 1,990 on NSE, 80.74 per cent premium over the issue price of Rs 1,101. On BSE, the scrip got listed at Rs 1,971, a 79.02 per cent premium. Nazara has become the first gaming company to list in India.

COVID-19 Update

Total Covid-19 confirmed cases worldwide were at 12,76,54,979 with 27,92,044 deaths. India reported 5,40,720 active cases of Covid-19 infection and 1,62,114 deaths while 1,13,93,021 patients have been discharged, data showed. India saw 68,020 new Coronavirus cases in a span of 24 hours on Monday, the highest single-day rise so far this year, taking the country's Covid-19 tally to above 1.20 crore, data showed.

Registering a steady increase for the 19th day in a row, the active cases have increased to 5,21,808, which comprise 4.33 per cent of total infections, while the recovery rate has further dropped to 94.32 per cent the data stated.

Japanese Retail Sales

Japanese retail sales fell for the third straight month in February as households kept a lid on expenditure amid the Coronavirus emergency, underscoring the fragile nature of the economy's recovery from last year's slump. Analysts expect Japan's economy to have sharply contracted in the first quarter, as lacklustre consumer spending and weakening exports create challenges for policymakers who have already rolled out massive stimulus.

Retail sales lost 1.5 per cent in February from a year earlier, government data showed on Tuesday, a smaller fall than the median market forecast for a 2.8 per cent drop. However, it marked the third straight month of declines following January's 2.4 per cent fall and a 0.2 per cent drop in December.

Losses at Nomura and Credit Suisse

Meanwhile, Nomura and Credit Suisse are facing billions of dollars in losses after a US hedge fund, named by sources as Archegos Capital, defaulted on margin calls, putting investors on edge about, who else might have been caught out. So, shares of big US banks and even regional banks fell.