Sensex surges over 700 points

New Delhi, Mar 27: Equity benchmark Sensex jumped over 700 points in opening session on Thursday led by gains in HDFC twins, Infosys, ICICI Bank and Axis Bank amid mixed global cues.

The 30-share BSE barometer was trading 713.76 points or 2.30 per cent higher at 29,249.54.

Similarly, the NSE Nifty was up 167.95 points, or 2.02 per cent, at 8,485.80.

IndusInd Bank was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rallying up to 20 per cent, followed by Axis Bank, Bajaj Auto, ICICI Bank, HDFC and Bajaj Finance. On the other hand, ITC, Maruti and ONGC were the top losers.

In the previous session, the BSE gauge Sensex shot up 1,861.75 points or 6.98 per cent to settle at 28,535.78, and the NSE barometer Nifty spurted 516.80 points or 6.62 per cent to end at 8,317.85 the biggest single-day gain for the indices.

According to traders, investors are weighing the economic impact of the 21-day lockdown in the country.

All eyes are Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's economic package to cushion the economic impact of the lockdown to curb the spread of Covid-19, expected to be announced shortly, they said.

Bourses in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Seoul were trading on a mixed note.

Stocks on Wall Street ended with firm gains in overnight trade.

Incessant foreign fund outflow also kept domestic market participants risk-averse, traders said.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained net sellers in the capital market, as they sold equity shares worth Rs 1,893.36 crore on Wednesday, according to provisional exchange data.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, fell 0.51 per cent to USD 27.25 per barrel.

The number of deaths around the world linked to the new coronavirus has crossed over 21,000. In India, more than 600 coronavirus cases have been reported so far.