Equity benchmark Sensex rallied over 350 points in early trade on Wednesday, as the nation continues to witness an incessant rise in Covid-19 cases.
Currently, there have been 3,60,960 Covid infections in the last 24 hours.
The benchmark tracked gains in index-heavyweights HDFC twins, Bajaj Finance and Infosys.
The 30-share BSE index was trading 351.06 points or 0.72 per cent higher at 49,295.20. Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty advanced 95.30 points or 0.65 per cent to 14,748.35.
Bajaj Finance was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rising around 3 per cent, followed by Bajaj Finserv, Bajaj Auto, SBI, IndusInd Bank, M&M, Bharti Airtel, HDFC twins, Kotak Bank and Infosys.
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On the other hand, UltraTech Cement, Reliance Industries and Maruti were among the laggards.
In the previous session, Sensex ended 557.63 points or 1.15 per cent higher at 48,944.14, and Nifty surged 168.05 points or 1.16 per cent to 14,653.05.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital market as they offloaded shares worth Rs 1,454.75 crore on Tuesday, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought shares worth Rs 1,463.44 crore, according to provisional exchange data.
According to V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services, there are some consistent trends in the market now.
"One, despite the bad news on the Covid front, the market has been maintaining the upside momentum. Two, FIIs have been consistent sellers (above Rs 10,000 crore in April, so far) and DIIs have been consistent buyers. These trends are likely to continue in the short run and markets are likely to remain strong," he said.
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Registering a steady increase, the active Covid cases have risen to 29,78,709, comprising 16.55 per cent of the total infections, while the national Covid-19 recovery rate has further dropped to 82.33 per cent
It appears that markets are looking into the post-second wave scenario which is likely to emerge in May, he noted, adding that global support to markets continues with positive economic data from the US. The FOMC comment expected later in the day is likely to reaffirm the US Fed's accommodative stance, imparting further resilience to markets.
“Meanwhile, fourth-quarter results continue to be good. Axis Bank's numbers confirm the trend of leading private sector banks growing their market share. Early bird midcap results are much better than expected. Midcaps are likely to outperform in the coming days," he said.
The Indian rupee advanced by 22 paise to 74.44 against the US dollar in opening trade, as a positive trend in equity markets lifted investor sentiment.
Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Hong Kong and Tokyo were trading on a positive note in mid-session deals, while Shanghai and Seoul were in the red.
Bourses on Wall Street ended with losses in overnight sessions.
Yesterday, S&P 500 and Dow ended flat as investors concentrated on the earnings reports from Microsoft Alphabet and other corporate heavyweights.
Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude was trading 0.09 per cent lower at $65.82 per barrel.
