Equity indices swing upward, Nifty IT jumps 9 pc

After a volatile start, equity benchmark indices jumped by over 5 per cent during the afternoon on March 20 as policymakers globally took further actions to minimise the human and economic impact of coronavirus pandemic. At 1 pm, the BSE S&P Sensex was up by 1,591 points or 5.62 per cent to 29,879 while the Nifty 50 edged higher by 452 points or 5.46 per cent to 8,715. Except for Nifty realty, all sectoral indices at the National Stock Exchange were in the green with Nifty IT up by 9.5 per cent, FMCG by 6.4 per cent, pharma by 5 per cent and metal by 4.3 per cent.