Market LIVE: Sensex, Nifty marginally up; rupee opens higher
Welcome to Mint live blog. Track this space for latest news and updates on stock markets.
Rupee opens higher
The Indian rupee opened at 76.30 against the US dollar, compared with Wednesday’s close of 76.67 per dollar.
Glenmark Pharma jumps nearly 7%
Glenmark Pharmaceuticals may become the first Indian company to develop an anti-retroviral (ARV), a class of drugs that is being touted as a potential treatment for coronavirus, according to a report by The Times of India. Glenmark has developed ARV Favipiravir that has shown positive results to treat the disease. Shares of the firm surged 6.6% to ₹339 on the BSE.
Fitch cuts FY21 India GDP forecast to 0.8%
Fitch Ratings on Thursday slashed India’s growth forecast for fiscal 2021 to 0.8% from 2% projected three weeks ago holding that the depth of the global recession appears to be more severe. The rating agency said economic collapse is being repeated globally and a notable feature of its latest update is sharp further downward revisions to GDP forecasts for emerging markets.
Sensex, Nifty open choppy
Benchmark indices failed to hold Wednesday’s gains and opened marginally higher in volatile trade. While Sensex rose 36.08 points, or 0.11%, to 31,415.63, the Nifty 50 index increased 12.50 points, or 0.14%, to 9,199.80 in opening deals.
Most Asian shares in the green
Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.7%, while Kospi index in Korea gained 0.6% and Hang Seng index in Hong Kong climbed 0.2%. SGX Nifty, which indicates the movement for Indian equities, traded flat at 9,151.00 in early deals.
Stocks to watch today
India Ratings and Research has assigned IND AA rating with a stable outlook to Torrent Pharmaceuticals’ non-convertible debentures (NCDs) worth ₹1,000 crore. Britannia, Piramal Enterprises, GMR Infrastructure and Zee Entertainment are some other stocks that may be in focus.
WTI rebounds to $13.78
Futures contracts of US oil benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for June delivery jumped 19% to $13.78 a barrel in New York. WTI had sunk into negative territory on Monday for the first time in history, but that was for the May contract that expired Tuesday.
Dow Jones, S&P 500 rise around 2%
The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 2.0% at 23,469.58 points. The broad-based S&P 500 gained 2.3% to 2,798.70, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 2.8% to end Wednesday’s session at 8,495.38 points.
US stocks rally on crude oil, Congress aid
Key Wall Street indices surged on Wednesday as oil prices recovered and Congress looked on course to approve nearly $500 billion more to help small businesses tide over the coronavirus crisis. US crude and international benchmark Brent prices climbed after a collapse in the past two days, sending the S&P 500 energy index up 3.6%.
All 11 S&P 500 sector indexes traded higher after the US Senate unanimously approved the new relief package, adding to trillions of dollars in stimulus that have helped Wall Street rebound from its March lows. The House of Representatives is expected to clear the bill on Thursday.
