Sensex spurts 460 pts; Nifty tops 17,350 mark on last day of 2021

The domestic equity benchmarks ended with decent gains on the last trading day of 2021. The Nifty closed above the 17,350 mark. All the sectoral indices on the NSE ended higher. Metals, auto and consumer durables stocks were in demand.

The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, rose 459.50 points or 0.80% to 58,253.82. The Nifty 50 index added 150.10 points or 0.87% to 17,354.05.

Titan Company (up 3.50%), Ultratech Cement (up 2.62%) and Maruti Suzuki India (up 1.86%) were major index gainers.

In the broader market, the BSE Mid-Cap index rose 1.38% and the BSE Small-Cap index gained 1.16%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2437 shares rose and 953 shares fell. A total of 90 shares were unchanged.

In the year ended on 31 December 2021, the Sensex soared 21.99% and the Nifty 50 index surged 24.12%. The BSE Mid-Cap index jumped 39.18% and the BSE Small-Cap index climbed 62.77%.

COVID-19 Update:

India`s active caseload currently stands at 91,361. Active cases account for less than 1% of total cases, currently at 0.26%. Recovery rate currently stands at 98.36%. India reported 7,585 recoveries in the last 24 hours, which increases total recoveries to 3,42,66,363.

A total of 16,764 new cases were reported in India in the last 24 hours. Daily positivity rate (1.34%) is less than 2% for last 88 days. Weekly positivity rate (0.89%) is less than 1% for last 47 days. According to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Thursday, the country recorded 961 cases of the Omicron variant of coronavirus across 22 states and UTs so far.

Economy:

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman chaired the pre-budget consultations with the Finance Ministers of States and Union Territories for Union Budget 2022-23 in New Delhi on Thursday. The meeting was attended by Union Minister of State for Finance, Chief Ministers, Deputy Chief Ministers, Finance Ministers, Ministers and Senior Officers from the States and Union Territories and the Union Government.

The Finance Secretary welcomed all the participants to the deliberation and informed the importance of this particular consultation meeting. Most of the participants thanked the Union Finance Minister for financially supporting their States and Union Territories during the worst months of pandemic, by enhancing borrowing limits, providing back to back loans to States and through special assistance for capital expenditure.

The participants also gave numerous suggestions to the Union Finance Minister for inclusion in the Budget Speech. Sitharaman thanked the participants for their inputs and suggestions towards Union Budget 2022-23 and assured to examine each of the proposals.

Numbers to Watch:

The yield on 10-year benchmark federal paper fell to 6.457% compared with 6.469% 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 74.2950, compared with its close of 74.4250 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 4 February 2022 settlement rose 0.08% to Rs 47,921.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback`s value against a basket of currencies, fell 0.06% to 95.91.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for March 2022 settlement fell 47 cents at $79.06 a barrel. The contract rose 9 cents, or 0.11% to settle at $79.32 a barrel in the previous trading session.

Foreign Markets:

Most European shares declined while Asian shares ended on a mixed note on Friday in thin year-end trading.

China`s factory activity saw an acceleration in growth during December, with the official manufacturing Purchasing Managers` Index (PMI) coming in at 50.3 for that month from November`s reading of 50.1, according to data released Friday by the country`s National Bureau of Statistics.

In the US, new claims for unemployment benefits fell in the week leading up to Christmas and benefits rolls slid to their lowest level of the coronavirus pandemic era the week earlier, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped to a seasonally adjusted 198,000 for the week ended December 25 from a revised 206,000 a week earlier.

New Listing:

Shares of CMS Info Systems settled at Rs 237.40 on the BSE, a premium of 9.91% as against the issue price of Rs 216.

The scrip was listed at Rs 218.50, representing a premium of 1.16% to the initial public offer (IPO) price.

The scrip hit a high of Rs 260 and a low of Rs 215 during the day. Over 30.05 lakh shares of the company have changed hands in the counter till now.

The IPO of CMS Info Systems was subscribed 1.95 times. The issue opened for bidding on 21 December 2021 and closed on 23 December 2021. The price band of the IPO was fixed at Rs 205-216 per share.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Bank index rose 1.19% to 35,481.70. The index has added 1.24% in two sessions.

Kotak Mahindra Bank (up 2.42%), Bandhan Bank (up 1.29%), Axis Bank (up 1.64%), HDFC Bank (up 1.33%), Federal Bank (up 1.03%), ICICI Bank (up 0.69%), IndusInd Bank (up 0.28%) and Punjab National Bank (up 0.54%) advanced.

State Bank of India (SBI) added 1.88%. India`s largest public sector bank on Thursday announced the acquisition of 9.95% stake in India International Exchange (IFSC). In a stock exchange filing, SBI said that the 9.95% stake in IFSC is to be acquired subject to a maximum investment of Rs 34.03 crore.

Stocks in Spotlight:

IDFC surged 13.39% and IDFC First Bank rose 1.90% after the board of IDFC First Bank favoured the merger of IDFC and IDFC Financial Holding Co (promoter group) with the bank.

The board of IDFC First Bank in its meeting held on Thursday has confirmed that they are "in‐principle" in favour of merger of `IDFC` and `IDFC Financial Holding Company` (IDFC FHCL) (promoter group) with `IDFC First Bank`.

The proposed restructuring is subject to the approval of the board of directors, shareholders, creditors, statutory and regulatory approvals of the respective entities.

The board has also constituted and authorized a committee namely `capital raise and corporate restructuring committee`, to work on the terms of proposed merger including finalizing the scheme, valuation, hiring advisors etc. as required.

The company said further details will be provided as and when the scheme of merger is finalised.

IDFC Financial Holding Company holds 36.52% stake in IDFC First Bank as of September 2021, while IDFC holds 100% stake in IDFC FHCL.

Reliance Industries (RIL) rose 0.50%. Reliance New Energy Solar (RNESL), a wholly owned subsidiary of RIL, has signed definitive agreements to acquire 100% shareholding in Faradion for an enterprise value of GBP 100 million. In addition, RNESL will also invest GBP 25 million as growth capital to accelerate commercial roll out.

Power Grid Corporation of India shed 0.41%. The company has approved investment proposal for expansion of POWERGRID telecom into data centre business and to establish a data centre at Manesar at an estimated cost of about around Rs 322 crore.

Biocon advanced 3.19%. Biocon Biologics, a subsidiary of Biocon, announced that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (USCAFC) has upheld the U.S. Patent and Trademark Appeal Board`s decisions for unpatentability of five device patents for Sanofi`s Lantus SoloSTAR, as well as a district court decision on one of these patents.

Time Technoplast advanced 3.19%. The company said it has received a single order of Rs 80 crore for Type-IV Composite Cylinder based CNG Cascade from renowned public sector gas distribution company.

Jindal Poly Films fell 1.95%. The company on Thursday announced the appointment of Devendra Singh Rawat as new chief financial officer of the company with effect from 30 December 2021.

PB Fintech advanced 3%. The board of PB Fintech, which owns Policy Bazaar, has approved investment of up to Rs 700 crore in one or more tranches in subsidiary Policybazaar Insurance Brokers during FY22 and FY23, and up to Rs 299.99 crore in subsidiary Paisabazaar Marketing and Consulting. The investments are aimed at strengthening the financial health of the subsidiaries to meet their general operating expenses and enhancing brand awareness, office presence and strategic initiatives.

Separately, Paisabazaar.com announced that it has strengthened its partnership with Axis Bank by launching a pre-qualified program for unsecured loans on its platform.

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