Sensex, Nifty Rebound From Virus-Led Slump; Banks, Metals Jump

The NSE Nifty 50 index was up 1.29 per cent at 14,491.05 at 2:41 pm, while the S&P BSE Sensex was 1.29 per cent higher at 48,502.18.

Indian shares rebounded on Tuesday after a bruising coronavirus-led tumble in the previous session, as beaten-down financial stocks gained and metal stocks benefited from a jump in commodity prices. A severe second wave of the novel coronavirus in India has threatened to disrupt the country's nascent economic recovery and dragged its main stock indexes from record highs hit in February. Still, investors are looking ahead to corporate earnings that began on Monday with software services major TCS reporting a rise in March-quarter profit. The NSE Nifty 50 index was up 1.29 per cent at 14,491.05 at 2:41 pm, while the S&P BSE Sensex was 1.29 per cent higher at 48,502.18. Each index fell more than three per cent on Monday, as the hardest-hit, economically important state of Maharashtra contemplated a lockdown. India reported more than 160,000 new cases on Tuesday, although the figure was slightly lower from Monday. Maharashtra, home to financial hub Mumbai, also saw a downtick. "The market is feeling that a lockdown might just be avoided, especially as cases are slightly slowing down in Maharashtra and Mumbai," said A.K. Prabhakar, head of research at IDBI Capital in Mumbai.