Barometers trade in range; auto stocks advance

The domestic equity benchmarks traded in a narrow range near the day's high in mid afternoon trade. The Nifty hovered around the 17,450 level. Investors cheered the RBI Monetary Policy Committee (MPC)'s decision to keep the key interest rates unchanged.

At 14:25 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 952.65 points or 1.65% to 58,586.30. The Nifty 50 index surged 267.75 points or 1.56% to 17,444.45.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 1.23% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 1.41%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2,333 shares rose and 916 shares fell. A total of 122 shares were unchanged.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Auto index rose 1.45% to 10,915.35. The index has added 3.07% in two sessions.

Bharat Forge (up 3.34%), Ashok Leyland (up 1.96%), Maruti Suzuki (up 1.77%), Tata Motors (up 1.74%), TVS Motor Company (up 1.13%), Hero MotoCorp (up 1.07%), Bajaj Auto (up 0.80%), Mahindra & Mahindra (up 0.70%) and Eicher Motors (up 0.67%) advanced.

Numbers to Track:

The yield on the 10-year benchmark federal paper rose to 6.348% compared with 6.391% at close in the previous trading session.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 75.51, compared with its close of 75.44 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 4 February 2022 settlement rose 0.25% to Rs 48,179.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was down 0.13% to 96.25.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for February 2022 settlement rose 17 cents or 0.23% to $75.27a barrel.

Global markets:

Most shares in Europe and Asia advanced on Wednesday, continuing a global relief rally as markets found positive news in early reports about the potential impact of the Omicron variant.

Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla on Tuesday reportedly said the omicron variant appears to be milder than previous strains, but also seems to spread faster and could lead to more mutations in the future.

Japan's economy in the July-September period contracted deeper than initially estimated last quarter amid a summer surge in COVID-19 cases that triggered emergency restrictions. Japan's economy in the July-September period shrank an annualized real 3.6% from the previous quarter, downgraded from the 3% contraction initially reported, government data showed Wednesday.

Meanwhile, British drugmaker GSK reportedly said on Tuesday its antibody-based COVID-19 therapy with U.S. partner Vir Biotechnology is effective against all mutations of the new Omicron coronavirus variant.

US stocks jumped for a second day, continuing their rebound from a recent rough patch, as investors grew less fearful of the potential economic impact from the new omicron coronavirus variant.

The US trade deficit narrowed sharply in October as exports soared to a record high, potentially setting up trade to contribute to economic growth this quarter for the first time in more than a year. The commerce department said on Tuesday that the trade gap plunged 17.6% to $67.1 billion.

The House passed a bill that would allow the Senate to raise the debt ceiling with a simple majority vote. The U.S. is expected to hit its debt ceiling around December 15, which raises the threat of a default. Once the legislation gets through the Senate and to President Joe Biden's desk, Congress can hold separate votes to increase the U.S. borrowing limit.

Powered by Capital Market - Live News