Post Session: Quick Review

Indian equity benchmarks ended near their intraday high points on Tuesday. After a positive start, markets witnessed sharp fall, as data from the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) showed unemployment rate in the country touched a four-month high of 7.91 per cent in December 2021. Traders took a note of Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal’s statement that the Omicron variant of COVID-19 will be a short-term disruption on businesses, adding that supply chains and industrial activities will continue at full speed. 

But soon, key indices staged recovery and traded in green till the end of the trading session, taking support with government data showing that India’s exports surged 37 percent on an annual basis to $37.29 billion in December 2021, the highest-ever monthly figure, on the back of healthy performance by sectors like engineering, textiles and chemicals, even as the trade deficit widened to $21.99 billion. Imports in December too rose by 38 per cent to $59.27 billion on account of an increase in oil imports, which soared 65.17 per cent to $15.9 billion.

Markets gained traction in the last hour of the trade to end on a strong note, as domestic sentiments remained positive, amid reports that equity investors are a happy lot as their wealth jumped by Rs 4.76 lakh crore in the first two days of trading in the New Year, driven by optimism in the broader market. Some support also came with a another private report stating that export-dependent software companies are set to report a strong sequential revenue growth in the range of 2.6 to 6 per cent in the seasonally weak December quarter.

On the global front, European markets were trading higher continuing the positive start to the New Year on hopes of a steady economic recovery despite a surge in Covid-19 cases. Asian markets settled mostly higher, after China's manufacturing sector rebounded in December as firms signaled the strongest growth in output for a year amid a renewed uptick in total sales. The survey results from IHS Markit showed that the Caixin manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index rose to 50.9 in December from 49.9 in November. The reading was forecast to rise marginally to 50.0.

The BSE Sensex ended at 59855.93, up by 672.71 points or 1.14% after trading in a range of 59084.40 and 59937.33. There were 26 stocks advancing against 4 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The broader indices ended in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.05%, while Small cap index up by 0.39%. (Provisional)

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Power up by 2.25%, Utilities up by 2.18%, Energy up by 1.77%, PSU up by 1.74% and Bankex up by 1.31%, while Healthcare down by 0.74%, Realty down by 0.58% and Metal down by 0.56% were the only losing indices on BSE. (Provisional)

The top gainers on the Sensex were NTPC up by 5.48%, Power Grid up by 2.73%, SBI up by 2.69%, Titan Co up by 2.31% and Reliance Industries up by 2.22%. On the flip side, Sun Pharma down by 1.09%, Ultratech Cement down by 0.85%, Indusind Bank down by 0.82% and Dr. Reddy's Lab down by 0.11% were the top losers. (Provisional)

Meanwhile, in a big relief, Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has said that the Omicron will be a short-term disruption for businesses but supply chains and industrial activities will continue at full speed.

While highlighting India’s exports which surged 37 percent on an annual basis to $37.29 billion in December 2021, the highest-ever monthly figure, Goyal called this achievement 'historic' and attributed it to the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He also congratulated all the Export Promotion Councils (EPC), exporters, and Indian Embassy officials all across the globe for contributing to this historic achievement.

Goyal commended the performance of Uttar Pradesh's performance and said Uttar Pradesh has been the best-performing state in exports. Further, the minister is hopeful that India will launch trade negotiations with Britain this month and hope to conclude an interim trade deal by March 2022. Goyal said that India will also launch trade negotiations with Canada and Israel soon.

The CNX Nifty ended at 17805.25, up by 179.55 points or 1.02% after trading in a range of 17593.55 and 17827.60. There were 36 stocks advancing against 14 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The top gainers on Nifty were NTPC up by 5.48%, ONGC up by 3.32%, Power Grid up by 2.73%, SBI up by 2.70% and Titan Co up by 2.34%. On the flip side, Tata Motors down by 1.61%, Coal India down by 1.48%, Sun Pharma down by 1.33%, Tata Consumer Products down by 1.22% and Shree Cement down by 1.08% were the top losers. (Provisional)

European markets were trading higher, UK’s FTSE 100 increased 97.39 points or 1.32% to 7,481.93, France’s CAC increased 53.92 points or 0.75% to 7,271.14 and Germany’s DAX was up by 29.02 points or 0.18% to 16,049.75.

Asian markets settled mostly higher on Tuesday after all three major US indexes hit record highs overnight with optimistic that Omicron variant of Covid-19 would not upset the economic recovery. Japanese shares rallied after the Japanese currency yen fell to its weakest since 2017 against the US dollar, following a spike in US Treasury yields. Hong Kong shares ended little changed as shares in crisis-hit Chinese property developer Evergrande rose as they resumed trading in Hong Kong after the developer said a government order to demolish 39 buildings on the resort island of Hainan would not affect the rest of its project there. But Chinese tech stocks listed in Hong Kong declined after China's cyberspace regulator announced that internet platforms with data for more than 1 million users will need to undergo a security review before listing overseas from February 15. Chinese shares fell slightly due to profit taking with concerns over support for the financial system after the Chinese central bank PBoC cut its net injection of short-term cash to the markets. This fall is in spite of data showed Chinese factory activity growth accelerated in December. The Caixin/ Markit manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index came in at 50.9, rising from November’s reading of 49.9.