Sensex surges over 450 points, Nifty trades above 8900 levels after a slow start

• The 30-share BSE barometer was trading 1.65% higher at 30,562.
  
• The NSE Nifty soared 152 points, or 1.74%, to 8,945 levels.
  
• The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 26.13 points, or 0.12%, to close at 22,653.86, on Tuesday.

Equity benchmark Sensex rallied over 495 points in early trade on Wednesday. After hitting a high of 30,667, the 30-share BSE barometer was trading 1.65% higher at 30,562 at 10:00 am.

Similarly, the NSE Nifty soared 152 points, or 1.74%, to 8,945 levels.

In the previous session, the BSE barometer surged 2,476.26 points or 8.97 per cent to settle the day at 30,067.21; while the NSE barometer Nifty zoomed 708.40 points or 8.76 per cent to close at 8,792.20 -- the best session ever for both indices in absolute terms and the biggest since May 2009 percentage-wise.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) turned net buyers in the capital market, as they bought equity shares worth Rs 741.77 crore on Tuesday, according to provisional exchange data.

However the Indian markets in sync with global benchmarks, turned negative during the early trade as worries over the economic impact of the pandemic continued to weigh on investor sentiment.

According to Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services, investors are awaiting an ease in lockdown procedures, so companies can get down to generating business. In a holiday shortened week, any news regarding peaking infections will be bought into.

Global Cues

US equities surrendered their earlier gains to finish lower as market momentum eased in late session.

On Tuesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 26.13 points, or 0.12 per cent, to close at 22,653.86. The S&P 500 was down 4.27 points, or 0.16 per cent, to 2,659.41. The Nasdaq Composite Index decreased 25.98 points, or 0.33 per cent, to 7,887.26.

The major averages rallied earlier in the session with the 30-stock index surging more than 900 points at the highs.

On the data front, small-business owners' confidence in the U.S. economy dropped by the most ever in March as the coronavirus outbreak devastates the economy, according to the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB).

The NFIB Small Business Optimism Index fell 8.1 points in March to 96.4, the largest monthly decline in the survey's history, the group said Tuesday in a report.

Investors digested latest news concerning the COVID-19 pandemic.

Wall Street's three major indexes closed up more than 7 percent on Monday, amid hopes for development in the fight against the COVID-19 outbreak.

Bourses in Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Seoul were in the red, while those in Tokyo were trading on a positive note.

Benchmark exchanges on Wall Street ended lower in overnight trade.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, rose 2.26 per cent to USD 32.59 per barrel.

The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in India has crossed 5,000.

Global tally of the infections has crossed 14 lakh, with over 82,000 deaths.

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