Barometers trade with minor gains; oil & gas stocks edge lower

The key equity indices traded with minor gains in mid-afternoon trade. The Nifty was trading above the 17,200 mark. Oil & gas shares extending losses for the second day in a row.

At 14:24 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 91.08 points or 0.16% to 57,897.57. The Nifty 50 index added 16.25 points or 0.09% to 17,229.85.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index shed 0.30% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 0.31%.

The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 1864 shares rose and 1452 shares fell. A total of 112 shares were unchanged.

COVID-19 Update:

India reported 13,154 new cases in the last 24 hours. The country`s active caseload currently stands at 82,402. Active cases account for less than 1% of total cases, currently at 0.24%. Recovery rate currently stands at 98.38%. 7,486 recoveries were reported in the last 24 hours, which increases total recoveries to 3,42,58,778.

With the administration of 63,91,282 vaccine doses in the last 24 hours, India`s COVID-19 vaccination coverage has exceeded 143.83 crore as per provisional reports till 7:00 IST today.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Oil & Gas index slipped 1.26% to 7,278.95. The index has declined 1.49% in two sessions.

IGL (down 2.21%), Reliance Industries (down 1.66%), Adani Total Gas (down 1.44%), Gujarat Gas (down 1.43%), Petronet LNG (down 1.24%), IOC (down 1.17%), HPCL (down 1.08%) and GSPL (down 1.02%) declined.

Oil India (up 1.81%) and ONGC (up 0.26%) bucked the trend.

Numbers to Track:

The yield on 10-year benchmark federal paper rose to 6.472% compared with 6.461% at close in the previous trading session.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged higher against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 74.4375, compared with its close of 74.7175 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 4 February 2022 settlement shed 0.36% to Rs 47,665.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback`s value against a basket of currencies, was up 0.26% to 96.18.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for February 2022 settlement lost 14 cents or 0.18% to $79.07a barrel.

Global Markets:

European indexes were mixed on Thursday morning as holiday-thinned trading continued in the region. Most Asian stocks declined on Thursday, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street.

In the US, the Dow and S&P 500 closed at all-time highs on Wednesday on a boost from retailers including Walgreens and Nike, as investors shrugged off concerns on the spreading omicron variant.

Data on Wednesday showed the US trade deficit in goods mushroomed to the widest ever in November as imports of consumer goods shot to a record, as the coronavirus pandemic has limited spending by Americans on services.

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