Sensex gains 355 points to settle at 40,616 & Nifty settles above 11,850

Equity benchmarks on Wednesday, November 4, 2020, logged gains amid positive global cues and ahead of the US Presidential Election outcome. The expectation of another domestic stimulus also helped to raise investor's confidence.

The S&P BSE Sensex, gained 355.01 points or 0.88 per cent to settle at 40,616.14. The NSE Nifty-50 index also rose 95 points or 0.80 per cent to settle at 11,908.50. Nifty Bank gained 88.80 points or 0.35 per cent to close at 25,771.60.

The broader market at BSE also climbed but underperforming the Sensex. The BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.43 per cent and the BSE Small-Cap index appreciated 0.33 per cent.

The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 1,150 shares rose and 1,073 shares fell. On the same lines, 33 shares advanced on Nifty 50 block while 17 declined. The major gainers on the Nifty block were IndusInd Bank (up 4.89 per cent), Sun Pharma (up 3.69 per cent), Divis Lab (up 3.56 per cent), Reliance (up 3.25 per cent) and Cipla (up 3.11 per cent). The major losers on the block were UPL (down 3.90 per cent), Axis Bank (down 2.64 per cent), HDFC (down 2.16 per cent), ICICI Bank (down 2.14 per cent) and Hindalco (down 1.78 per cent).

US Election Update

As per the latest report, Democratic candidate Joe Biden has secured 238 electoral votes, while Donald Trump has won 213 seats so far. A candidate needs to win 270 electoral votes to capture the US presidency.

Share markets were whipsawed, while bonds and the dollar gained on Wednesday as results from the US presidential election proved far closer than polls had predicted, potentially leaving the outcome in doubt for days or weeks.

COVID-19 Update

Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide were at 4,74,05,395 with 12,13,735 deaths. India reported 5,33,787 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 1,23,611 deaths, while 76,56,478 patients have been discharged, data showed.

Indian Service Sector Data

Activity in India's dominant services sector expanded in October 2020 for the first time in eight months, supporting a view that recovery has been picking up since the South Asian economy lifted a lockdown to stem the pandemic. The Markit India Services PMI SA climbed to 54.1 last month, the highest since February's 57.5, data published by IHS Markit on Wednesday showed. It's also the sixth straight month of gains for the services gauge after hitting a record low of 5.4 in April. Data on Monday showed activity in the manufacturing sector is humming, with the index at a decade high. The better numbers pushed the composite index to 58, from 54.6 in September. The services sector accounts for about 55 per cent of India's gross domestic product. A slew of recent data showed an uptick in October.