Sensex rallies over 1,000 points, BPCL jumps by 14 pc

Equity indices bounced back from yesterday's decline and closed over 3 per cent higher on the last trading day of the financial year 2019-20 (FY 20) tracking gains in global markets.

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], Mar 31 : Equity indices bounced back from yesterday's decline and closed over 3 per cent higher on the last trading day of the financial year 2019-20 (FY 20) tracking gains in global markets.

A sizable improvement in Chinese manufacturing data for March supported the market sentiment. Investors, however, continued to track development related to coronavirus and measures taken by the government to minimise its impact.

The BSE S&P Sensex closed 1,028 points or 3.62 per cent higher at 29,468 while the Nifty 50 nudged higher by 317 points or 3.82 per cent to 8,598.

All sectoral indices at the National Stock Exchange were in the positive zone with Nifty FMCG up by 5.7 per cent, metal by 5.2 per cent, pharma by 4 per cent and IT by 3.6 per cent.

Among stocks, Bharat Petroleum Corporation clocked a dramatic jump of 13.56 per cent to wind up the day at Rs 312 per share as global crude oil prices plunged to their lowest level since 2002.

This was largely due to heightened fears that global coronavirus shutdown could last for months and demand for fuel may decline further. Brent futures fell by 9.8 per cent to 22.50 dollars a barrel while US West Texas Intermediate crude fell by 5.7 per cent to 20.29 dollars.

ONGC was up by 7.3 per cent and GAIL by 8.1 per cent while index heavyweight Reliance Industries edged higher by 6.7 per cent to close at Rs 1,100 per share.

The other prominent gainers were Britannia, ITC, UPL, Hindalco, Tech Mahindra and Wipro.

However, shares of IndusInd Bank plunged by over 15 per cent due to concerns over tight liquidity and its impact on growth and margins. The private sector lender indicated a day earlier that 10 to 11 per cent of its deposits (nearly Rs 22,000 crore) have seen outflows since December quarter.

Eicher Motors, Cipla, Bajaj Finserv, Bajaj Finance, Maruti and Titan too traded with a negative bias.

Meanwhile, Asian shares rallied as factory data from China held out the hope of a rebound in activity. China's official manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) bounced to 52 in March, up from a record-low 35.7 in February.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng firmed by 1.85 per cent while South Korea's Kospi added 2.19 per cent. But Japan's Nikkei was down by 0.88 per cent after initial spurt.

( With inputs from ANI )