Benchmark indices pared their gains as union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman did not come up with the much awaited economic package to deal with the effects of the coronavirus.

The 30-share BSE Sensex on Wednesday settled at 26674.03 — marking a gain of 692.79 points, or 2.67 per cent. Earlier, the gauge rallied by more than 1481 points on optimism that the finance minister would announce an economic package that could contain tax reliefs to soften the blow of the coronavirus, which has crimped various industries and businesses.

However, investors were left disappointed as Sitharaman came up with relief measures only pertaining to statutory and regulatory compliance matters across sectors. She said the government would come out with the economic package soon and that the details are being worked out as it has received suggestions from different sub-groups. The absence of any bold announcements saw stocks paring their gains.

Earlier, the sentiment was boosted after the US Federal Reserve announced an unlimited bond buying to support the US economy and Italy, which has been one of the most affected by the spread of the novel coronavirus, reported lower deaths. This led to Asian and European stocks opening in the green. At close, Asian indices rallied by up to 7 per cent.

However, back home concerns remain over the spread of the virus and market players feel that the stocks are likely to remain under pressure till there is positive news with regard to the control of its spread. Various experts, however, do point out that the markets are in an over-sold territory and this is a good time for long-term investors to start accumulating.

The Sensex opened in the green at 27056.23 and hit an intra-day high of 27462.87. It, however, gave up its gains and ended at 26674.03 — a gain of 692.79 points, or 2.67 per cent.

Bourses open

Leading stock exchanges NSE and BSE will conduct normal operations on Wednesday. An NSE spokesperson said operations will be normal at the exchange on Wednesday.

“BSE operations will continue,” the bourse’s MD and CEO Ashishkumar Chauhan said in a tweet.

All capital and debt market services notified by Sebi will be exempted from the 21-day lockdown announced on Tuesday evening.

The gainers list was led by Infosys which rose 12.69 per cent. It was followed by Bajaj Finance, Hindustan Unilever and Reliance Industries. Among the losers, shares of Mahindra & Mahindra tumbled 8.32 per cent to Rs 269.25.

At the NSE, the broader Nifty ended with gains of 190.80 points or 2.51 per cent.