Domestic equity markets rose for the 3rd consecutive day; Sensex rallies 790 points & Nifty ends above 14,850

Benchmark indices rallied for the third trading session and ended near the day's high on Wednesday, April 28, 2021. The S&P BSE Sensex jumped 789.70 points or 1.61 per cent to 49,733.84. The Nifty 50 index gained 211.50 points or 1.44 per cent to settle at 14,864.55. Nifty Bank index rose 987.45 points or 3.02 per cent and closed at 33,722.80.

The broader markets witnessed relatively leaner trade today. The S&P BSE MidCap index ended 0.99 per cent up while the S&P BSE SmallCap index added 0.71 per cent.

Buyers outpaced sellers. On the BSE, 1,782 shares rose and 1185 shares fell. On the Nifty 50 index, 35 shares advanced and 15 shares declined. The top five gainers on Nifty were Bajaj Finance (up 8.02 per cent), IndusInd Bank (up 4.92 per cent), Eicher Motors (up 4.83 per cent), Bajaj Finserv (up 3.85 per cent) and Kotak Mahindra Bank (up 3.70 per cent). The top five losers were Britannia (down 2.01 per cent), Hindalco (down 1.04 per cent), Nestle India (down 0.97 per cent), Divi's Laboratories (down 0.89 per cent) and HDFC Life (down 0.85 per cent).

COVID-19 update

Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide were at 14,87,32,626 with 31,35,531 deaths. India reported 29,78,709 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 2,01,187 deaths while 1,48,17,371 patients have been discharged, data showed. India reported 3,60,960 new cases, 3,293 deaths in last 24 hours.

Indian Economy

The Indian economy is projected to grow at 11 per cent in the current financial year amid the strong vaccine drive, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said on Wednesday, while cautioning that the recent surge in COVID-19 cases may put the country's economic recovery at risk. "India's economy is expected to grow 11 per cent in FY22, amid a strong vaccine drive," ADB said in its flagship Asian Development Outlook (ADO) 2021 released on Wednesday.

However, ADB cautioned that the surge in COVID-19 cases may put the country's economic recovery at risk. For FY22, India's GDP is expected to expand at 7 per cent, it added.

Rise in Retail sales in Japan

Japan's retail sales rose 5.2% in March as compared with a year ago, according to government data.

The US Economy

The US Federal Reserve kicked off its two-day policy meeting on Tuesday. The central bank is likely to hold and keep its asset-buying programme in place at the same levels for the rest of 2021, despite growing concerns about an overheating economy. Consumer confidence climbed sharply to hit a pandemic high with The Conference Board's index jumping to 121.7, the highest since February 2020.