Indices end with modest losses; IT stocks outperform

Equity indices ended a volatile trading session with modest losses on Friday. Barring IT index, all sectoral indices on the NSE ended in red.

The Nifty hit a day`s low of 16,909.60 in morning trade after opening above the 17,100 mark. The index trimmed some losses and managed to close near the 17,000 mark.

The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, dropped 190.97 points 0.33% at 57,124.31. The Nifty 50 index lost 68.85 points or 0.4% at 17,003.75.

Broader markets ended with losses. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index shed 1.15% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index slipped 0.6%. Sellers outnumbered the buyers.

Among the sectoral indices, the S&P BSE IT index (up 0.74%), the S&P BSE TECK index (up 0.54%) and the S&P BSE Energy index (down 0.14%) outperformed the benchmark Sensex. The S&P BSE Power index (down 2.04%), the S&P BSE Utilities index (down 1.96%) and the S&P BSE Realty index (down 1.43%) underperformed the benchmark Sensex.

COVID-19 Update:

India reported 6,650 new COVID-19 cases and 374 deaths in the last 24 hours. The country`s active caseload currently stands at 77,516. Meanwhile, India`s Omicron tally jumped to 358 with 88 cases in Maharashtra and 67 in Delhi.

New Listing:

Shares of Data Patterns (India) ended at Rs 754.85, at a premium of 29.03% as compared to the issue price of Rs 585 per share. The scrip was listed at Rs 864, representing a premium of 47.69% to the issue price. The scrip has hit a high of 864 and a low of 744.05. Over 10.44 lakh shares of the company had changed hands in the counter. The initial public offer (IPO) of Data Patterns (India) received bids for 84,89,85,725 shares as against 70,97,285 shares on offer. The issue was subscribed 119.62 times.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty IT index gained 0.98% to 37,727.80, rising for fourth consecutive trading session. The IT index added 5% in four days.

Coforge (up 3.35%), HCL Technologies (up 2.86%), Tech Mahindra (up 2.39%), L&T Infotech (up 1.94%) and L&T Technology Services (up 0.58%) were top gainers in IT segment.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Sigachi Industries fell 0.9%. In a regulatory filing made during market hours today, the company said that it has received a Letter of Intent from Grasim Industries (Aditya Birla Group), for the operations and management of the three chlorine product plants - SBP-48 TPD, CPW-30 TPD & MCAA-20TPD. The agreement shall be for an amount of Rs 20 crore and will be valid for a period of 3 years, the company said.

Allcargo Logistics rose 0.56%. The board of Allcargo Logistics approved the demerger of CFS/ICD business into Allcargo Terminals and demerger of equipment rental, logistics parks and other real estate assets into TransIndia Realty & Logistics Parks (TransIndia). As per the company`s press statement, the demerger will position the company to accelerate growth across businesses by creating independent business undertakings, with "sharper management focus, better access to right capital, and greater operational and financial flexibility."

Under the scheme of demerger, all three companies will have mirror shareholding, resulting in no change in entitlement of shareholders for each entity. Post demerger, shareholders will get 1 share each of Allcargo Terminals and TransIndia Realty & Logistics Parks for every 1 share held of Allcargo Logistics. The 1:1 ratio will avoid fractional allotment and benefit all shareholders, the exchange filing highlighted.

Ajanta Pharma rose 3.11% after the company said that its board will meet on Tuesday, 28 December 2021, to consider a proposal for buy-back of equity shares of the company.

Lupin fell 1.66%. The drug company intimated that it has secured a tentative approval from the US-based drug regulator, United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) for its Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA), azilsartan medoxomil tablets.

Surya Roshni fell 0.55%. The company won an order of Rs 124.35 crore (excluding GST) from IHB for the supply of API 5L Grade 3LPE coated pipes for LPG pipeline project from Kandla (Gujarat) to Gorakhpur (UP).

Mindteck (India) rose 4.98% on securing a project on the optimization of application module software as an external module of instrument control and workflow module software, from a mass spectrometry solutions firm.

Numbers to Track:

The yield on 10-year benchmark federal paper was currently at 6.462% as compared to its previous close of 6.460%.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged higher against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 75.03, compared with its close of 75.2650 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 4 February 2022 settlement added 0.03% to Rs 48,165.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for February 2022 settlement rose $1.3 or 1.73% to $76.58 a barrel.

Global Markets:

Select European markets were trading higher while Asian stocks closed on a positive note on Friday following gains overnight on Wall Street, with the S&P 500 closing at a new record. Some markets in Asia-Pacific, including Australia, Singapore and Hong Kong, are set to close early on Friday due to Christmas Eve.

Japan`s November consumer inflation marked the biggest year-on-year rise in nearly two years on surging fuel costs. Japan`s core consumer price index (CPI), which excludes volatile fresh food but includes oil costs, rose 0.5% in November from a year earlier, government data showed.

US stocks rose for a third day on Thursday as investors looked past earlier jitters about the spread of the omicron Covid variant. Helping boost sentiment were new studies suggesting that omicron has a lower risk of hospitalization than other Covid variants. U.S. markets will remain closed today for the Christmas holiday.

The Food and Drug Administration granted emergency use authorization for Pfizer`s Covid pill, the first oral antiviral drug against the virus. The FDA also authorized Merck`s antiviral pill for Covid-19 on Thursday.

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