Equity indices jump on Rs 1.7 lakh crore stimulus package to tide over COVID-19 fallout

Equity benchmark indices closed over 4 per cent higher on Thursday as Finance Minister Nirmala Sithamran announced a Rs 1.7 lakh crore stimulus package to provide various relief measures for the poor amid downturn caused by the coronavirus outbreak.

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], Mar 26 : Equity benchmark indices closed over 4 per cent higher on Thursday as Finance Minister Nirmala Sithamran announced a Rs 1.7 lakh crore stimulus package to provide various relief measures for the poor amid downturn caused by the coronavirus outbreak.

Market sentiment also improved after the US Senate unmously passed a two trillion dollar stimulus package meant to cushion the economic blow of COVID-19 for American workers and businesses.

Besides, value buying in banking stocks lifted the benchmark indices higher. The BSE S&P Sensex closed 1,411 points or 4.94 per cent higher at 29,947 while the Nifty 50 edged higher by 324 points or 3.89 per cent to 8,641.

All sectoral indices at the National Stock Exchange were in the positive zone with Nifty private bank up by 8.2 per cent, financial service by 5.7 per cent, realty by 7.3 per cent and FMCG by 4.9 per cent.

Among stocks, IndusInd Bank touched the upper circuit in the afternoon session, snapping an eight-day losing streak and clocking the biggest-ever intra-day gain. It finally closed 46 per cent higher at Rs 440 per share.

Kotak Mahindra Bank gained by 6.4 per cent while Bajaj Finance ticked up by 9.2 per cent.

The other prominent winners included Larsen & Toubro, Bharti Airtel, Hero MotoCorp, Bajaj Auto and HDFC.

However, GAIL lost by 3.3 per cent while HCL Technologies, Tech Mahindra, Sun Pharma and Tata Steel traded with a negative bias.

Meanwhile, Asian shares lost momentum. Japan's Nikkei slumped by 4.51 per cent, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index by 0.7 per cent and South Korea's Kospi by 1.09 per cent.

The US Senate passed a two trillion dollar stimulus package to cushion the economic blow of coronavirus pandemic for American workers and businesses. The package includes billions of dollars in credit for struggling industries bill needs to be passed by the Democrats-led House.

( With inputs from ANI )