Market Gains for the Fourth day; Sensex rises 724 points to 41,340 & Nifty 50 ends at 12,120

Domestic equity benchmarks ended near the day's high after a robust rally on Thursday, November 5, 2020, tracking the international markets, as Democrat Joe Biden moved closer to victory in the US presidential election. The Nifty managed to close above the 12,000 mark and Sensex above 41,000 level.

The S&P BSE Sensex rallied 724.02 points or 1.78 per cent to end at 41,340.16. The Nifty 50 index jumped 211.80 points or 1.78 per cent to settle at 12,120.30. The Nifty 50 went up 541.50 points or 2.1 per cent to close at 26,313.10

The broader market at BSE also climbed but underperforming the Sensex. The BSE Mid-Cap index rose 1.74 per cent and the BSE Small-Cap index appreciated 1.70 per cent.

Buyers outnumbered sellers. On the BSE, 1733 shares rose and 915 shares fell. On similar lines, 48 shares advanced on Nifty 50 while 2 declined. The top five stocks that advanced on Nifty block were IndusInd Bank (up 6.19 per cent), Hindalco (up 6.01 per cent), SBI (up 5.56 per cent), BPCL (up 5.29 per cent) and Tata Steel (up 5.13 per cent), while the two stocks that declined include Hero MotoCorp (down 0.61 per cent) and HDFC Life (0.21 per cent).

COVID-19 update

Total Covid-19 confirmed cases worldwide were at 4,80,92,115 with 12,25,221 deaths. India reported 5,27,962 active cases of Covid-19 infection and 1,24,315 deaths while 77,11,809 patients have been discharged, data showed.

US Presidential Election Update

According to the latest count, Democratic Party candidate and former vice president Joe Biden has won 264 electoral votes while President Donald Trump has won 214 electoral votes. A candidate needs 270 electoral votes to win the election. In the Senate, the Republican Party has so far won 48 seats while the Democratic Party has won 46 seats. Either party needs 51 seats for a majority in the Senate. In the House, the Democratic Party has won 204 seats so far while the Republican Party has won 190 seats. Either party needs 218 seats for a majority in the House.

US Service Sector Update

US service sector activity slowed by more than expected in October, according to a report released by the Institute for Supply Management on Wednesday. The ISM said its services PMI dipped to 56.6 in October from 57.8 in September. US trade deficit narrowed to $63.9 billion in September from a revised $67.0 billion in August, a report released by the Commerce Department on Wednesday.