Strong earnings reported by financial sector companies spur indices

 Sensex records biggest one-day jump in a month, Nifty50 ends the session with a gain of 211 points or 1.4 per cent

The benchmark Sensex posted its biggest single-day jump in nearly a month on Wednesday, as strong earnings reported by the financial sector helped revive sentiment earlier dampened by the surging number of cases.

While the infection tally continued to climb and Maharashtra extended restrictions on movement by another 15 days, investors chose to look beyond the short-term pain, said, analysts.

The Nifty50 ended the session at 14,864, with a gain of 211 points or 1.4 per cent. The benchmark Sensex finished the session at 49,733, with a gain of 790 points, or 1.61 percent — the most since March 30. In the past three sessions, the index has rallied nearly 4 per cent. However, it is still down 5 percent from its all-time high logged in mid-February.

Bajaj Finance rose 8.3 per cent, the most among Sensex components after it posted a 30 per cent year-on-year growth in net profits for Q4.

Shares of ICICI Bank added another 4 per cent after the lender posted strong earnings over the weekend. IndusInd Bank, Bajaj Finserv, and Kotak Mahindra Bank were the other top Sensex gainers.

“Earnings have been good, which has kept the sentiment positive, and the narrative coming out of those companies has also been positive. The problem we have is more towards vaccination, which will be key now. Global markets remain positive; all PMI numbers coming out of the US, the UK, and the rest of Europe have been powerful. Global indices could be a bit hot in the summer thanks to reopening trades,” said Andrew Holland, CEO of Avendus Capital Alternate Strategies.