Markets open on positive note: Sensex soars 800 points, Nifty touches 8,400-level; indices track Asian peers as China PMI data lifts sentiment

Shares edged up on Tuesday, tracking broader Asian peers, as unexpected upbeat factory data from China provided hope of a rebound in activity despite a spike in coronavirus cases back home.The stock market opened when trading began at the bourses on Tuesday morning. The Sensex was up 854.52 points or 3 percent at 29294.90, and the Nifty eded to 248.25 points or 3 percent at 8529.34. About 513 shares have advanced, 82 shares declined, and 27 shares are unchanged.Hindalco Industries, HDFC, JSW Steel, Vedanta and Tech Mahindra were among major gainers on the Nifty in the opening session. IndusInd Bank plunged up to 15 percent. Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Auto and Maruti were also among the laggards.After a short while, the benchmark indices slipped with the Sensex down over 550 points. In a short while, however, the markets erased early gains.In the previous session, the 30-share BSE barometer ended 1,375.27 points or 4.61 per cent lower at 28,440.32, and the broader Nifty fell 379.15 points, or 4.38 per cent, to close at 8,281.10.[caption id="attachment_4419583" align="alignleft" width="380"] Representative image. Reuters.[/caption]Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) turned net sellers in the capital market, as they offloaded equity shares worth Rs 4,363.61 crore on Monday, according to provisional exchange data, PTI said.According to traders, despite concerns over the rising number of COVID-19 cases in the country and the economic fallout of the nationwide lockdown, investors are value-buying during each dip.On the global front, bourses in Shanghai were trading on a positive note after China's manufacturing sector steadily resumed production after the COVID-19 shutdown, with 98.6 per cent of the major industrial firms nationwide having restarted work.Stocks in Hong Kong, Tokyo and Seoul were also trading significantly higher.Benchmark exchanges on Wall Street rallied over 3 per cent in overnight trade.Meanwhile, the Indian rupee appreciated 10 paise to 75.48 against the US dollar in morning trade.Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, rose 2.16 per cent to USD 26.99 per barrel.The number of COVID-19 cases in India has surged past 1,200, according to health ministry log. While there are more than 1,100 active cases, nearly 100 have been cured.Deaths around the world linked to the pandemic crossed have 37,000. PTIAsia shares inch up, China's factories show flicker of lifeAsian shares were closing out a calamitous quarter with a tentative rally on Tuesday as factory data from China held out the hope of a rebound in activity, even as much of the rest of the world shut down.China’s official manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) bounced to 52.0 in March, up from a record-low 35.7 in February and topping forecasts of 45.0, Reuters said.Analysts cautioned the index could overstate the true improvement as it measures the net balance of firms reporting an expansion or contraction in activity.If a company merely resumed working after a forced stoppage, it would read as an expansion without saying much about the overall level of activity.The number was enough of a relief to help MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rise 1.1%. That still left it down 22% for the quarter, its worst performance since 2008.Gains were modest at best with Shanghai blue chips up 0.6% and South Korea up 1.7%. Japan’s Nikkei eased 0.6%, to be down 20% since the start of the year.E-Mini futures for the S&P 500 edged up 0.1%, supported by end of month book-keeping demand. EUROSTOXX 50 futures rose 0.7% and FTSE futures 0.3%.“It’s month-end rebalancing, whereby balanced funds now underweight equities versus fixed income given this month’s valuation destruction, need to buy stocks to get back into balance,” analysts at NAB said.Healthcare had led Wall Street higher, with the Dow ending Monday up 3.19%, while the S&P 500 gained 3.35% and the Nasdaq 3.62%.News on the coronavirus remained grim but radical stimulus steps by governments and central banks have at least provided some comfort to economies.--With inputs from agencies