Post Session: Quick Review

Indian equity benchmarks ended with notable gains on Thursday. After a positive start of the day, markets remained higher during the trading session. Traders were positive, as the I-T department has said income tax refunds of over Rs 1,44,328 crore have been issued to 1.38 crore taxpayers from April 01, 2021 to December 20, 2021 of this fiscal. This includes 99.75 lakh refunds of Assessment Year (AY) 2021-22 (fiscal ended March 31, 2021) amounting to Rs 20,451.95 crore.

Adding some optimism, the rating agency ICRA said that profitability of sugar, fertiliser and dairy sectors will remain stable in FY22, with only three months left to close the financial year 21-22. Traders took note of MPC minutes released by the central bank showing that RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das pitched for continued policy support to nurture revival in sectors especially those which are exposed to the evolving headwinds in the wake of spread of Omicron variant of Covid.

Besides, with an aim to formulate measures to improve ease of living, doing business and reduce the compliance burden, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has pitched for simplicity. He also called for the creation of a single identification number for businesses and individuals by merging several identification numbers that exist presently, such as Aadhaar, PAN and TAN, so that delivery of services becomes smoother and faster.

Firm trade continued in the second half of the trading session, amid reports that around 50 Indian companies are taking part in a three-day business exhibition in Nepal, aimed to promote Brand India and enhance bilateral trade and investment by creating awareness about trade opportunities available on both sides. Further, in the pre-Budget consultation meetings with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, the industry groups have called for rationalisation of income tax slabs, infrastructure status for digital services and incentives to hydrogen storage as well as fuel cell development.

On the global front, European markets were trading mostly in green as investors’ sentiment improved on signs the impact of the Omicron coronavirus variant may not be as severe as feared. Asian markets settled higher on Thursday, even after Japan's leading index increased less than estimated in October. The final data from the Cabinet Office showed that the leading index, which measures the future economic activity, rose to 101.5 in October from 100.2 in September. According to the initial estimate, the reading was 102.1.

The BSE Sensex ended at 57315.28, up by 384.72 points or 0.68% after trading in a range of 57146.28 and 57490.52. There were 20 stocks advancing against 10 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The broader indices ended in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 1.01%, while Small cap index up by 0.73%. (Provisional)

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 2.21%, PSU up by 1.64%, Oil & Gas up by 1.51%, Power up by 1.45% and Utilities up by 1.40%, while Telecom down by 0.82% and Metal down by 0.27% were the only losing indices on BSE. (Provisional)

The top gainers on the Sensex were Power Grid up by 3.40%, ITC up by 2.48%, Bajaj Finance up by 2.12%, Infosys up by 1.77% and NTPC up by 1.67%. On the flip side, Bharti Airtel down by 0.93%, Sun Pharma down by 0.80%, Maruti Suzuki down by 0.64%, Ultratech Cement down by 0.56% and Asian Paints down by 0.27% were the top losers. (Provisional)

Meanwhile, In the pre-Budget consultation meetings with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, the industry groups have called for rationalisation of income tax slabs, infrastructure status for digital services and incentives to hydrogen storage as well as fuel cell development.

The customary pre-budget consultation meetings were held with the finance minister virtually between December 15 and December 22. More than 120 invitees representing seven stakeholder groups participated in eight meetings, scheduled during this period.

The stakeholder groups include representatives and experts from agriculture and agro-processing industry; industry, infrastructure and climate change; financial sector and capital markets; services and trade; social sector; trade union & labour organisation and economists.

The stakeholder groups made several suggestions on various issues including increased R&D spending, infrastructure status for digital services, incentives to hydrogen storage and fuel cell development, rationalisation of income tax slabs, investments in online safety measures etc, among others.

The CNX Nifty ended at 17072.60, up by 117.15 points or 0.69% after trading in a range of 17015.55 and 17118.65. There were 36 stocks advancing against 14 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The top gainers on Nifty were Power Grid up by 3.37%, Indian Oil Corp. up by 2.84%, ONGC up by 2.70%, ITC up by 2.50% and Cipla up by 2.25%. On the flip side, Divi's Lab down by 1.86%, JSW Steel down by 1.63%, Bharti Airtel down by 0.88%, Sun Pharma down by 0.63% and Ultratech Cement down by 0.50% were the top losers. (Provisional)

European markets were trading mostly in green, France’s CAC increased 11.71 points or 0.17% to 7,063.38 and Germany’s DAX was up by 54.98 points or 0.35% to 15,648.45. On the flip side, UK’s FTSE 100 was down by 2.31 points or 0.03% to 7,339.35.

Asian markets settled higher on Thursday amid thin volumes ahead of Christmas break. Wall Street’s overnight gains also supported Asian market sentiments as Omicron fears subsided and the latest data of revised third-quarter economic growth painted a positive picture of the world's largest economy. While, the US White House also said it was resuming talks on a major social spending bill with a senator Joe Manchin, who is crucial to passing the legislation. Chinese shares gained as Chinese authorities have adopted strict pandemic control measures under their policy of seeking to drive new transmissions to zero. Ahead of the country hosting Winter Olympics in Beijing, China has ordered a lockdown in the northern city of Xi’an, a city of 13 million people in central China. Moreover, Japanese shares advanced with positive data from a South African study which suggested that there are reduced risks of hospitalisation and severe disease in people infected with the Omicron corona-virus variant versus the Delta one.