Barometers pare losses; most Asian markets advance

The domestic equity barometers pared losses in mid-morning trade. The Nifty regained the 17,400 mark. Auto stocks took a breather after rising in the past two sessions. Most Asian indices advanced.

At 11:27 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 119.56 points or 0.20% to 58,530.12. The Nifty 50 index lost 41.90 points or 0.24% to 17,427.85.

The domestic equity indices witnessed profit booking after advancing 3.3% in the past two sessions.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.22% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index added 0.67%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 1990 shares rose and 1102 shares fell. A total of 136 shares were unchanged.

The underlying investor sentiment, however, continues to remain strong after media reported that the omicron variant of the coronavirus may not disrupt economies as much as feared. A report from Pfizer and BioNTech indicated that a third dose of their COVID-19 vaccine neutralized omicron in laboratory tests, but that a two-dose regimen is less effective.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Auto index shed 0.22% to 10,983.30. The index had gained 3.95% in the past two sessions.

Eicher Motors (down 0.90%), TVS Motor Company (down 0.79%), Maruti Suzuki (down 0.49%), Bajaj Auto (down 0.09%) and Hero MotoCorp (down 0.05%) declined. Concurrently, Ashok Leyland (up 1.03%), Bharat Forge (up 0.40%) and Mahindra & Mahindra (up 0.12%) advanced.

According to media reports, automobile retail in the country continued to lag that in yesteryears as a variety of reasons from tepid demand for two-wheelers to a semiconductor shortage hurt business. Vehicle registrations, which are a good proxy for retail, declined 3% in November compared to last year and were down 20% compared to the same month in 2019.

The reports further added that car and tractor sales had been good in November last year, giving a high base for comparison this year. The two segments recorded 19% and 9% year-on-year declines in registrations last month.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Dr Reddy`s Laboratories rose 0.21% to Rs 4,580.15. The company and Prestige BioPharma have entered into a binding agreement for an exclusive partnership for the supply and commercialization of the latter`s proposed Trastuzumab biosimilar in select countries in Latin America and Southeast Asia. Prestige BioPharma`s Trastuzumab (HD201) is a proposed biosimilar to Roche`s Herceptin and can be prescribed for the treatment of HER2 positive breast and metastatic gastric cancer.

Ugro Capital shed 0.56% to Rs 195.30. The company said that its board will meet on Saturday, 11 December 2021, to consider raising funds by way of issuance of non-convertible debentures on a private placement basis.

Global markets:

Most Asian stocks advanced on Thursday as traders bet the global recovery will be resilient to the new virus strain.

Wall Street closed slightly higher on Wednesday with the three major indexes managing their third straight day of gains after test data showed the COVID-19 vaccine from Pfizer and BioNTech offered some protection against the new Omicron variant.

Meanwhile, the World Health Organization on Wednesday said the variant could change the course of the pandemic. Scientists worldwide are scrambling to determine just how contagious and lethal omicron is and how effective would existing vaccines be against the virus.

While preliminary evidence from South Africa, where the variant was first identified, may suggest that omicron is milder than the delta strain, WHO`s technical lead on Covid-19 says it is �too early to conclude� that.

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