Sensex rallies on stimulus hopes, oil rebound

Rebounding oil prices, along with positive global cues, helped Indian markets rebound and end the day with gains of nearly 2 per cent.

While the S&P BSE Sensex gained 473.45 points (1.98 per cent) to end at 24,435.66, the Nifty 50 ended 145.65 points (2 per cent) higher at 7422.45.

“The market witnessed a relief rally in expectation of an additional stimulus from the European Central Bank (ECB) by March 2016. During the same time, Chinese data is pointing to stabilisation in the economy. The domestic market may undergo a consolidation phase with high volatility in the near-term as we are at the doorstep of an F&O expiry,” Geojit BNP Paribas Financial Services Head (Fundamental Research) Vinod Nair said.

“Key benchmark indices in India opened with a gap up and continued to trundle upwards in today’s trading session. Investor sentiment was given a boost after crude oil prices staged a recovery to scale the $30 mark breached last week and the ECB signaled that the council may provide further stimulus in its next meeting in March,” BNP Paribas Mutual Fund Fund Manager (Equities) Shreyash Devalkar said.

GAIL led the list of gainers on the Nifty 50 ending up 7.64 per cent at RS 366.50. Other major gainers included M&M (up 5.43 per cent at Rs 1200.50), Hindalco (up 5.27 per cent at Rs 71.90), Maruti (up 5.15 per cent at Rs 4092.30) and SBI (up 5.15 per cent at Rs 184.65).

Advances outnumbered declines nearly 6:1 on NSE with 1305 stocks advancing and 260 declining and 40 remaining unchanged. Idea was the biggest loser on the Nifty 50 as its third quarter results did not meet expectations. Other major losers included Bharti Airtel, Bosch, ITC, HUL, Adani Ports and Wipro.