Equities close in the green on hopes of economic package, Nifty IT up 6 pc

After a Monday mayhem, equity benchmark indices extended early gains in choppy trade on Tuesday amid some government relaxations on statutory and regulatory compliance-related issues.

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], Mar 24 : After a Monday mayhem, equity benchmark indices extended early gains in choppy trade on Tuesday amid some government relaxations on statutory and regulatory compliance-related issues.

The market sentiment improved after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said a fiscal package will be announced soon to offset the negative impact of coronavirus on the Indian economy.

At the closing bell, the BSE S&P Sensex was up by 693 points to 26,674 while the Nifty 50 edged higher by 191 points to 7,801.

Except for Nifty realty, all sectoral indices at the National Stock Exchange were in the positive zone with Nifty IT ticking up by 6.1 per cent, pharma by 2.8 per cent and FMCG by 3.2 per cent. But Nifty realty was down by 1.9 per cent.

Among stocks, IT major Infosys was the top gainer, moving up 13.97 per cent to Rs 600 per share, after the US Securities and Exchanges Commission gave it a clean chit in the whistleblower case.

Ad Ports witnessed a handsome gain of 13.8 per cent while FMCG major Britannia moved up by 11.8 per cent. Hindustan Lever was up by 7.5 per cent after it signed a pact with Glenmark Pharmaceuticals to acquire its intimate hygiene brand VWash.

Nestle India too edged up by 5.3 per cent. Index heavyweight Reliance Industries ticked up by 7 per cent to Rs 946 per share. The other prominent gainers were Bajaj Finance, Maruti and Kotak Mahindra Bank.

However, the losers included Mahindra & Mahindra, Grasim, IndusInd Bank, Power Grid Corporation and Bharti Infratel.

Meanwhile, Asian stocks rallied as the US Federal Reserve's pledge to spend whatever it took to stabilise the financial system eased debt market pressures.

The world's biggest central bank signalled it will do practically anything -- extending loans to big and small businesses and purchasing unlimited amounts of government debt -- to help the US economy with coronavirus sending large swaths of the globe into shutdown mode.

Japan's Nikkei moved up by 7.13 per cent while Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 4.46 per cent and South Korea's Kospi ticked up by 8.6 per cent.

( With inputs from ANI )