New year cheer for indices! Sensex above 59K, up 929 pts; Nifty atop 17,600

Closing Bell

Indian equities kicked-off new calendar year 2022 on a solid note as fresh record highs in the global markets bolstered domestic investors' confidence. The gains came even as India's manufacturing activity lost some momentum in December, with the Manufacturing PMI easing to a three-month low of 55.5.

The S&P BSE Sensex opened with tepid gain of less than 100 points, but gained strength during the day to hit a high of 59,266. It, eventually, settled 929 points higher at 59,183 levels with 26 of the 30 index constituents ending the session in the green.

It's NSE counterpart, Nifty50, meanwhile, shut shop at 17,626 levels, up 272 points. It hit an intra-day high of 17,647. 44 of the 50 index stocks ended higher led by Coal India (up 9 per cent), Eicher Motors, Bajaj twins, ICICI Bank, Tata Motors, IndusInd Bank, and HDFC Bank.

The laggards were largely from the pharma space, including Cipla, Dr Reddy's Labs, and Divis Labs. Nestle India, HUL, and M&M were some of the other top losers.

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According to Narendra Solanki, Head-Equity Research (Fundamentals) at Anand Rathi Shares and Stock Brokers, the market sentiment was upbeat as Finance Ministry said that Goods and Services Tax (GST) revenues grew 13 per cent to over Rs 1.29 lakh crore in December 2021, as compared to Rs 1.15 lakh crore GST revenues in the same month last year, mainly due to pickup in economic activity and anti-evasion steps.

Meanwhile, in the broader market, the BSE MidCap and SmallCap indices underperformed the frontline indices by closing 1.2 per cent higher each. In comparison, the benchmarks were up 1.6 per cent.

Among individual shares, the shares of Apollo Micro Systems rallied 16 per cent in Monday's intra-day trade amid heavy volumes, and hit a fresh 52-week high of Rs 191 on the BSE. The shares ended 11.1 per cent higher on the BSE. READ MORE

On the flipside, the shares of Surya Roshni slipped 18 per cent to Rs 480.20, hitting an over six-month low on the BSE in Monday's intra-day trade on the back of heavy volumes. The stock hit its lowest level since June 10, 2021. By close, the shares stood at 11.2 per cent down. READ MORE

BS Special | Tata Motors, Bajaj Auto: Near-term headwinds may keep auto shares volatile

Among sectors, barring the Nifty Pharma index, which ended 0.5 per cent lower, all other indices clocked smart gains. The Nifty Bank and Private Bank indices were the top performers, rising 2.7 per cent each, followed by the Nifty Financial Services, PSU Bank, and Metal indices (up over 2 per cent each).

The overall market breadth was firmly in the favour of the buyers with over 2,600 advancing stocks on the BSE, relative to 880 declining stocks.

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Markets at Lunch 02:30 PM

LIVE market updates: The key benchmark indices continue to scale fresh highs in the day on the of unabted buying support. The BSE Sensex touched a high of 59,197, and was up 927 points at 59,181. The NSE Nifty surged 268 points to 17,622.

The broader indices were also more-or-less moving in tandem with the benchmark indices. The BSE Midcap index was up 1.2 per cent, and the Smallcap index had added 1.3 per cent. The overall breadth too was was extremely positive, with 3.3 advancing shares for every declining stock on the BSE.

Among sectoral indices, the BSE Bankex was up over 2 per cent. The Metal, Realty, Auto and Energy indices were up around 1.5 per cent each. The Healthcare index was the sole loser, down 0.1 per cent.

Vindhya Telelinks was the top gainer in the broader market, up nearly 18 per cent. Black Box, JP Power, Greaves Cotton, Minda Corp, Rajesh Exports, Eveready Industries, Solara International, Ramco Industries, eClerx, Balaji Amines, Tube Investments of India, Somany Ceramics, Edelweiss Financial Services, Deepak Fertilisers, Oriental Trimex, Arihant Capital Markets, Oriental Hotels, TTL, Bal Pharma, Banaras Beads, Shree Rama Multitech, Inventure Growth Securities and ARSS Infra were the major gainers.

On the flip side, Surya Roshni, Apollo Tricoat, APL Apollo Tubes, Dhanuka Agritech, Vishwaraj Sugars, LoyalEquipments, BC Power Controls, ANG Lifesciences, Ravinder Hieghts, Ambition Mica, GlobalSpace Technologies and Bhartiya International were some of the significant losers.
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Markets at Lunch (01:30 PM)

LIVE market updates: The key benchmark indices continue to hold firm gains on the back of solid gains in financial shares and select index heavyweights.

Among financials, the Bajaj twins - Bajaj Finserv and Bajaj Finance were the top gainers in the Sensex 30 space, up 3.3 per cent and 2.8 per cent, respectively. Axis Bank and ICICI Bank were up around 2.5 per cent each.

TCS, HDFC Bank, Larsen & Toubro, SBI, HDFC, Maruti, Asain Paints and Reliance Industries were the other prominent gainers.

The BSE Sensex was up 772 points at 59,026, and the NSE Nifty had added 210 points to 17,564.

BS Special
Shares of auto and auto-ancillary companies entered fast-lane on Monday after auto-makers posted in-line December sales figures over the weekend. The sector, especially two-wheeler makers, however, may not be entirely out of the woods yet and could have a bumpy road ahead, caution analysts. READ HERE TO KNOW WHY. 

On technical charts, here's how the sector's stocks may perform. READ HERE.
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Markets at 12 noon

LIVE market updates: Frontline indices were firm in noon deals amid strong market sentiments. Continued buying support was present across IT, Auto, Realty, Financial stocks. The BSE Sensex was up 584 points at 58,838, while the NSE Nifty was at 17,519, higher by 165 points. 

Nifty Pharma and healthcare indices, down 0.2 per cent each were the only underperformers. Alll the other indices were trading in the green zone. 

Shares of textile companies continued their northward movement on improved outlook. Vardhman Textiles and Sangam India hit their respective record highs, while Cantabil Retail touched a 52-week high on the BSE. READ MORE.
 

Among stocks, the shares of Greaves Cotton were up over 11 per cent on BSE after the company’s e-mobility arm Greaves Electric Mobility said it has sold over 10,000 units in December 2021 clocking a 101 per cent growth in sales from a year ago, reports said. 

That apart, shares of Future Retail were down 0.8 per cent. As per a report, the company has asked a Delhi court to declare ongoing arbitration proceedings with Amazon.com illegal, saying the antitrust agency had suspended a 2019 deal which Amazon used to assert its rights over Future. READ MORE.

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Markets at 11am

LIVE market updates: The benchmark indices steadily held onto morning gains, supported by buying in financials and IT stocks. The BSE Sensex was up 549 points at 58,803 while the NSE Nifty had topped the 17,500-mark and was 161 points higher at 17,515.

On the Sensex, heavyweights Reliance Ind, HDFC Bank, Infosys, TCS were trading 0.8 per cent, 0.9 per cent, 1 per cent and  2 per cent higher, respectively. On the Nifty, Eicher Motors, Coal India and Tata Motors were the additonal gainers.
 

Apart from IT, Auto and Bank indices, Realty index too was trading over 1 per cent higher on the NSE. Oberoi Realty, Lodha, Prestige and IndiaBulls Real Estate and DLF were up between 1.6-4 per cent higher.

Asian markets

Shares in Asia were mixed on Monday with some major markets in the region closed. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index shed earlier gains and fell into negative territory, declining 0.62% per cent by the afternoon.

Trading in the shares of Chinese developer China Evergrande Group was halted in Hong Kong on Monday, according to reports. No immediate reason was given for the halt. Elsewhere, South Korea’s Kospi gained 0.21 per cent, while the Taiex in Taiwan advanced 0.13 per cent.

Over in Southeast Asia, the Straits Times index climbed 0.27 per cent. Markets in Australia, mainland China and Japan are closed on Monday for new years' holiday.

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Markets at 10 am

LIVE market updates: The benchmark indices firmly extended opening gains and were rallying up to 0.8 per cent. The BSE Sensex was up 489 points at 58,743, while the NSE Nifty was heading towards the 17,500-mark and was at 17,493, higher by 139 points. 

The broader indices were also exhibiting a strong momentum. The BSE MidCap and SmallCap indices were trading nearly 0.7 per cent and 1 per cent higher, respectively. Meanwhile, the Nifty IT index hit a record high at 39,068.

Auto stocks witnessed buying on healthy sales data for December. Shares of Eicher Motors rallied 5 per cent to Rs 2,714.15 on the BSE after the company’s Royal Enfield brand reported 43 per cent rise in month-on-month sales of 73,739 units in the month of December 2021. READ MORE.

On the Sensex, TCS, HDFC Bank, Bajaj Finserv, L&T, Maruti, NTPC, ICICI Bank, Asian Paints were the top gainers. M&M, Titan, Dr Reddy's, and IndusInd Bank, meanwhile, remained in the negative zone. 

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Opening Bell

LIVE market updates: The benchmark indices started on a positive note on the first trading day of the new calendar year and were up by 0.6 per cent. The BSE Sensex was at 58, 587, up 334 points, while the Nifty50 was at 17,464, higher by 110 points.

In the broader market, the BSE MidCap and SmallCap indices were also in the green and were up 0.5 and 0.8 per cent, respectively.

Among the Sensex-30 constituents, Tech Mahindra, TCS, Wipro, Asian Paints, HCL tech, PowerGrid, Infosys, NTPC, and RIL were the top gainers, up between 0.5-1 per cent. Dr Reddy's Labs, Titan, M&M, Kotak Bank and SBI, meanwhile, were the losers. 

All sectoral indices were also positive except pharma and healthcare, which were marginally lower. On the Nifty, IT and Auto indices were leading gains and were up 0.9 and 1.5 per cent higher, respectively.

Notably, Tata Motors, which logged its highest-ever monthly sales in December, was trading over 3 per cent higher on the BSE. Maruti, another auto major that has clocked robust sales, was trading 1.8 per cent up. 

IT majors Infosys, Wipro, TCS, HCL Technology were also up over 1 per cent each.

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Pre-open session
 

LIVE market updates: The benchmark indices indicated a likely muted start on Monday as the BSE Sensex was down 74 points at 58,179, while the NSE Nifty was 64 points lower at 17,289. 

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LIVE market updates: The key benchmark indices are likely to start the new year on a tepid note, as per the indications from the SGX Nifty futures. As of 08:20 AM, the SGX Nifty January futures were quoted at 17,408, indicating a likely flat start for trade.

Among stocks, auto shares will be in focus after the companies announced robust sales data on Saturday. 

RBL Bank may also be looked out for as rating agency ICRA has placed the bank's long-term and medium-term ratings on watch with developing implications. Further, heavyweight Reliance may also be eyed as brokerage Morgan Stanley has reportedly given an overweight call on the company saying its new energy stack continues to fall in place as India progresses to decarbonisation target. 

Besides, Future Retail has said that it has missed payments of Rs 39.49 bln to lenders following the one time debt restructuring plan and was therefore downgraded to default grade by Care Ratings. 

Meanwhile, India’s growth in eight infrastructure sectors dipped to a nine-month low at 3.1 per cent in November on fears of an impending third wave of the pandemic.

That apart, given the fresh spike in Covid-19 cases, several states across the country have announced fresh curbs and travel related restrictions. On Sunday, the West Bengal government limited flights from Mumbai and Delhi to twice per week.

Global cues

The US markets on Friday ended trade on a tepid note. The Dow Jones and the S&P 500 were down 0.2 per cent and 0.3 per cent, respectively. Nasdaq was down 0.6 per cent.

In Asia, Hang Seng and Straits Times were up 0.4 per cent each, while Taiwan gained 0.7 per cent. Japan’s Nikkei and China’s Shanghai Composite were shut for New Year holidays.

Despite a decline on the last trading day of the year 2021, Crude Oil prices registered their best yearly gains for the year since 2015. On Friday, Brent Crude slipped 2.2 per cent to $77.78 a barrel, and WTI Crude dropped 2.3 per cent at $75.21 a barrel.