Sensex Rebounds Above 49,000, Nifty Tops 14,700

The 30-share pack Sensex opened higher by 238.60 points at 49,182.74 with gains in 28 scrips out of 30. Bajaj Auto, Bajaj Finance, and Bajaj Finserv were the top boosts for the index at market opening on Wednesday as they surged 2-3 per cent each. The domestic equity benchmarks continued their upward rally for the third straight session tracking gains in Banking and Financial stocks in the early trade on Wednesday, April 28. Investors are keenly monitoring the government's course of action in tackling the second wave and also the ongoing earning session of companies, said experts.

"As the earnings season gets in full swing while COVID-19 cases continue to be very high. The market is continuously reacting to the government’s course of action along with progress on vaccination drive," said Siddhartha Khemka of Motilal Oswal Financial Services.

The NBFC major Bajaj Finance posted a 42 per cent growth in its profit for the March quarter which stood at Rs 1,347 crore. The company reported a profit of Rs 948.1 crore in the year-ago period. Shares of the company surged over three per cent and marked its day's high of Rs 5,036.00 in the early trade session.

Similarly, the Nifty-50 opened higher by 70.30 points at 14,723.30 points. In the overall market breadth, about 1142 shares gained, 242 shares declined, and 55 shared remained unchanged.

Among the sectors, all sectors witnessed buying except for Metal and Pharma sectors as market participants booked their profits in both sectors after a rally that was witnessed in previous sessions. The Auto, PSU Bank, and Financial sector gained over a per cent each at market opening. 

What led the markets to edge higher for the third straight session?

The markets bounced back and recovered most of its losses that occurred in the last couple of weeks on the account of a rising tally in the number of Covid cases in the country. However, a sharp decline in the cases in few areas of the country adhering to lockdown and strong expectations from quarter earnings of blue chips led the markets to edge higher this week, said experts.

"Expectations from earnings outcome by heavyweights. Sectors such as banking, metals, and consumer durable witnessed healthy buying interest from participants. In addition, the progress of the vaccination drive and a dip in the COVID cases further boosted sentiments," said Ajit Mishra - VP - Research, Religare Broking Limited. 

Further, the announcements from the U.S Fed meeting can also add to the sentiment as the markets will track the developments from their global peers, experts added.