Key Benchmarks ended with strong gains; Nifty ends above 11,800 mark & Sensex rises 1.27 pct

Domestic stocks markets, Sensex and Nifty, closed with strong gains on Tuesday, November 3, 2020. The gains were supported by the banks and financial stocks. Global stocks were positive as investors watched for US Presidential election results.

The S&P BSE Sensex rallied 503.55 points, or 1.27 per cent, to 40,261.13. The Nifty 50 gained 144.35 points, or 1.24 per cent, and ended at 11,813.50. Following a similar pattern, Nifty Bank added 790.30 points, or 3.17 per cent, to end at 25,682.80.

The broader market lagged the key benchmarks. The BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.42 per cent and the BSE Small-Cap index gained 0.35 per cent.

The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 1410 shares rose and 1229 shares fell. A total of 191 shares were unchanged. On similar lines, 35 shares advanced in Nifty 50 while 15 declined. The top five gainers on Nifty 5o were ICICI Bank (up 6.72 per cent), Hindalco (up 5.07 per cent), SBI (up 4.31 per cent), Power Grid (up 4.02 per cent) and HDFC (up 3.93 per cent). The top five losers were UPL (down 6.61 per cent), NTPC (down 3.76 per cent), Reliance (down 1.25 per cent), Nestle India (down 1.14 per cent) and Hindustan Unilever (down 1.07 per cent).

US Presidential Elections

Democratic nominee Joe Biden leads President Donald Trump in a series of polls in their final sprint for the race for White House before polling ends on Tuesday. A win by challenger Joe Biden in the presidential race might lead to more economic stimulus.

COVID-19 Update

Total Covid-19 confirmed cases worldwide were at 4,68,71,264 with 12,06,187 deaths. India reported 5,41,405 active cases of Covid-19 infection and 1,23,097 deaths while 76,03,121 patients have been discharged, as per the data from the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

Bank rate cut in Australia

Australia's central bank cut interest rates and announced a new bond-buying programme as it seeks to ensure a rapid recovery across an economy now free of lockdowns. The Reserve Bank of Australia lowered its key interest rate, yield-curve target and bank lending facility rate to 0.10 per cent from 0.25 per cent, as forecast by an overwhelming majority of economists.

The board also said it would buy A$ 100 billion ($70.4 billion) of government bonds with maturities of around 5-10 years over the next six months. These will involve securities issued by the federal government and the states and territories at an expected 80:20 split. The RBA also cut the rate paid to commercial lenders for their deposits at the central bank to zero. The move demonstrates the central bank's desire to quickly drag the economy out of its first recession in almost 30 years and prevent unemployment from becoming entrenched.