Domestic markets rise for 2nd day; Sensex gains 272 points & Nifty closes above 14,700 mark

Equity indices ended with decent gains on Thursday, May 6, 2021. The S&P BSE Sensex added 272.21 points or 0.56 per cent to 48,949.76. The Nifty 50 index gained 106.95 points or 0.73 per cent to 14,724.80. The Nifty Bank index rose 44.10 points or 0.13 per cent and closed at 32,827.80.

The broader markets, too, performed in line with frontline indices. The S&P BSE MidCap index added 0.91 per cent while the S&P BSE SmallCap index gained 0.59 per cent.

Buyers outpaced sellers. On the BSE, 1,643 shares rose and 1,349 shares fell. On the Nifty 50 index, 35 shares advanced and 15 shares declined. The top five gainers were Hindalco (up 5.67 per cent), Hero MotoCorp (up 4.67 per cent), Wipro (up 4.41 per cent), Tata Motors (up 3.28 per cent) and Tata Steel (up 3.07 per cent). The top five losers were UPL (down 1.43 per cent), Bajaj Finserv (down 1.03 per cent), PowerGrid (down 1.01 per cent), Sun Pharma (down 0.83 per cent) and NTPC (down 0.77 per cent).

COVID-19 update

Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide were at 15,52,16,499 with 32,42,360 deaths. India reported 35,66,398 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 2,30,168 deaths while 1,72,80,844 patients have been discharged, data showed.

The Government has said that 12 States and Union Territories are showing early signs of reduction in COVID-19 cases. These States and Union Territories include Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Jharkhand and Ladakh. Briefing reporters in New Delhi, Joint Secretary in Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Lav Agarwal said, around 2.4 per cent day on day growth in COVID cases has been noticed. He said, 12 States and Union Territories have more than one lakh active cases. The states are Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Bihar and Haryana.

Mr Agarwal said, seven states have 50,000 to one lakh active cases, while 17 states have less than 50,000 active cases. He said, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, and Haryana have reported more COVID-19 deaths.

Principal Scientific Advisor, K Vijay Raghavan said, vaccines are effective against current variants. He said, new variants will arise all over the world and in India too but variants that increase transmission will likely plateau. He said, this is a critical time and it is important for all of us to work together and ensure India and the world get out of this Pandemic. He said, mask and social distancing are critical and most effective in containing COVID-19.

S&P Global rating forecast for India's GDP Growth

S&P Global Ratings on Wednesday slashed India's GDP growth forecast for the current financial year to 9.8 per cent saying the second COVID-19 wave may derail the budding recovery in the economy and credit conditions. The rating agency in March had an 11 per cent GDP growth forecast for India for FY22 on account of a fast-economic reopening and fiscal stimulus.