The Sensex gained over 400 points in early trade; Nifty moved below 14,800

Despite the positive trend in the global markets, the index benchmark Sensex tumbled over 400 points in early trade on April 5, crippled by losses in the index major HDFC twins, ICICI Bank and Reliance Industries.

The 30-share BSE index was trading 434.90 points or 0.87% lower at 49,594.93, and the broader NSE Nifty fell 109.35 points or 0.74% to 14,758.

IndusInd Bank was over 3% in the Sensex pack, followed by Bajaj Finance, Axis Bank, SBI, Bajaj Auto, Bajaj Finserv, ICICI Bank, HDFC Twins and Reliance Industries.

On the other hand, Infosys, HCL Tech, Tech Mahindra, TCS and Bharti Airtel were among the beneficiaries.

The Sensex rose 520.68 points or 1.05% to 50,029.83 points in the previous session on April 1 and the Nifty closed up 176.65 points or 1.2% at 14,867.35.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net buyers in the capital market as they bought shares worth 1 149.41 crore as per exchange data on 1 April. Financial markets were closed on April 2 for ‘Good Friday’.

Domestic equations do not look inspiring at the moment. Binod Modi, Head-Strategy, Reliance Securities, said there is a possibility of a sharp surge in coronovirus cases in the country and curbing investor sentiments in the near future.

“The impact of the weekend lockdown in Maharashtra, which contributes 13% of the country’s GDP and about 20% of India’s industrial production, does not go well,” he said.

Elsewhere in Asia, bouncers in Seoul and Tokyo traded on a positive note in mid-season deals. Markets in Shanghai, Hong Kong and Australia were closed for the holidays.

Meanwhile, global oil benchmark Brent crude was trading 0.89% lower at $ 64.28 a barrel.