Sensex Trades Higher As Hopes Of Coronavirus Vaccine Rise

Benchmark indices opened the day higher, after US markets surged 2 per cent, following hopes of a vaccine to prevent coronavirus infections.

Reports that a proposed vaccine trial by Moderna produced antibodies in all patients in an early trial, sent stock markets around the world higher. Dow Futures were once again pointing to higher openings, while most Asian markets were trading with gains of nearly 1 per cent.

Banking stocks, which have been hammered down over the last few trading sessions, saw some buying interest. ICICI Bank, Axis Bank and HDFC Bank were among the early gainers in trade.

The Sensex was trading with gains of 281 points, while the Nifty was up 94 points in trade.

Shares in Reliance Industries were up 1.2 per cent, ahead of its AGM scheduled later today. Markets are expecting some major announcements from the company. IT major Infosys too saw its shares price gain, ahead of quarterly numbers for the period ending June 30, 2020 to be declared later today.

Bharti Airtel shares were down, even after the company announced its partnership with USA's Verizon to offer videoconferencing solutions to businesses in India. Shares in Wipro surged 9 per cent, following quarterly numbers that beat expectations.