Post Session: Quick Review

Indian equity benchmarks ended on a strong note, as bulls held a tight grip over the Dalal Street. Markets made a positive start of the day, as India’s exports in the first three weeks of December rose 36.20% on-year at $23.82 billion. Outbound shipments were 27.7% higher than the same period of 2019-20. Export excluding petroleum, oil and lubricants increased 28.08% over the corresponding period last year. Some support came amid reports that increasing per capita steel consumption and production of special steel as well as enhancing raw material security will remain the key focus areas of the government in 2022.

Firm trade continued over the Dalal Street till the end of the trading session, as traders got some support after a private report stated that the Indian economy is likely to maintain a real GDP growth of 9 percent each in FY2022 and FY2023 amid uncertainty triggered by the Omicron variant of corona virus. Traders also took note of another private report stating that spiralling prices pinched the pocket of consumer as edible oil, fuel and many other commodities turned dearer this year amid pandemic-induced disruptions but the inflationary pressure is anticipated to ease, though marginally, in the coming months.

On the global front, European markets were trading in green as investors appear confident that the Omicron coronavirus variant will not derail the global economic recovery. Asian markets ended higher on Tuesday, after industrial output in Japan advanced a seasonally adjusted 7.2 percent on month in November. The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said that beat expectations for an increase of 4.8 percent and was up from the 1.8 percent gain in October. On a yearly basis, industrial production improved 5.4 percent - again topping forecasts for a gain of 2.5 percent following the 4.1 percent contraction in the previous month.

Back home, the Centre has extended the existing Covid-related restrictions in the country till January 31, 2022, in view of the rising cases of Covid-19 and Omicron variant in the country. On Monday, the number of Omicron cases in India rose to 578. Delhi and Maharashtra have reported 142 cases each. On the sectoral front, the textile industry stocks remained in focus as the government is sticking to its decision to implement uniform goods and services tax (GST) rate at 12% on manmade fibre (MMF), MMF yarn, MMF fabrics and apparel from January 1, 2022, despite demands from traders and states.

The BSE Sensex ended at 57897.48, up by 477.24 points or 0.83% after trading in a range of 57650.29 and 57952.48. There were 28 stocks advancing against 2 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The broader indices ended in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.95%, while Small cap index up by 1.43%. (Provisional)

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Capital Goods up by 1.56%, Basic Materials up by 1.50%, Industrials up by 1.48%, Consumer Disc up by 1.36% and Auto up by 1.26%, while there were no losing sectoral indices on the BSE. (Provisional)

The top gainers on the Sensex were Asian Paints up by 2.85%, Sun Pharma up by 2.59%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 2.53%, Ultratech Cement up by 2.16% and Titan Co up by 2.05%. On the flip side, Indusind Bank down by 0.29% and Power Grid down by 0.22% were the only losers. (Provisional)

Meanwhile, highlighting that the Indian steel sector is full of opportunities, Minister of State (MoS) Faggan Singh Kulaste has said that increasing per capita steel consumption and production of special steel as well as enhancing raw material security will remain the key focus areas of the government in 2022.

Kulaste said the focus will also be on finding new markets as the production of steel continues to grow in the country. He said that the per capita steel consumption in the country is at around 72.3 kg at present, while the capacity is at 143.9 MTPA (million tonnes per annum), and the focus will also be on increasing the output of special steel.

Besides, the minister said that the country must aim to grab the numero uno position in quality steel production. The ministry has already directed the public sector undertakings (PSUs) and private players to take measures to cut imports of special steel.

The CNX Nifty ended at 17233.25, up by 147.00 points or 0.86% after trading in a range of 17161.15 and 17250.25. There were 47 stocks advancing against 3 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The top gainers on Nifty were Asian Paints up by 2.93%, Sun Pharma up by 2.64%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 2.46%, Ultratech Cement up by 2.22% and Titan Co up by 2.08%. On the flip side, Indusind Bank down by 0.30%, Power Grid down by 0.24% and ICICI Bank down by 0.03% were the only losers. (Provisional)
 
European markets were trading in green, France’s CAC increased 16.71 points or 0.23% to 7,157.10 and Germany’s DAX was up by 48.03 points or 0.3% to 15,883.28.

Asian markets ended higher on Tuesday tracking overnight gains in Wall Street following strong retail sales data. Chinese shares settled higher as Chinese authorities unveiled sweeping regulations governing overseas share sales by the country's firms, taking one of its biggest steps to tighten scrutiny on international debuts in the wake of Didi Global Inc.’s controversial listing. The Chinese central bank PBoC injected 200 billion yuan ($31.39 billion) through seven-day reverse repos into the banking system. Japanese shares advanced by data for Japan's factory output in November, which surged 7.2% against forecast for a rise of 4.8%. Moreover, Seoul shares gained as investors bought shares before the ex-dividend date. However, investors were concerned about the rapidly spreading omicron Covid-19 variant and its possible impact on the global economy.