Benchmarks drift higher in early trade

Benchmark indices inched higher in early trade on buying demand in index pivotals. The Nifty scaled 17,200 mark. At 9:22 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, rose 192.58 points or 0.33% at 57,877.79. The Nifty 50 index added 37.3 points or 0.22% at 17,204.75.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index fell 0.05% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index added 0.12%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 1521 shares rose and 845 shares fell. A total of 90 shares were unchanged.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Coal India rose 0.01%. The state-run coal major's coal production increased 4.1% to 53.8 million tonnes (MT) in November 2021 from 51.7 MT in November 2020. The company's coal offtake stood at 56.8 MT last month, up 10.8% compared with 51.3 MT recorded in the same month last year.

Raymond added 0.2%. The board of the diversified group has approved the listing of its subsidiary JK Files & Engineering (JKFEL). The IPO will comprise an offer for sale of Rs 800 crore. It will not have any fresh issuance of shares. JKFEL is the world's largest manufacturer of steel files with a share of over 25% of global capacity in 2020, with a presence in over 55 countries. The company is also a leading player in the drills segment in India.

Globus Spirits was locked in an upper circuit of 5% at Rs 1,138.20 after the spirits manufacturer won a tender floated by oil marketing companies (OMCs) for supplying 9.68 crore litre of Ethanol at Rs 52.92 per litre.

Global Markets:

Asian stocks were mixed on Thursday as concerns over the economic impact of the omicron Covid variant continue to weigh on investor sentiment.

The number of COVID-19 cases in South Africa almost doubled, while the UK, Switzerland and Brazil reported cases of the omicron variant.

US stocks witnessed a sharp reversal overnight after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed the first case of omicron in the US.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 461.68 points to 34,022.04 while the S&P 500 declined 1.18% to 4,513.04. The Nasdaq Composite fell 1.83% to 15,254.05.

Meanwhile, US Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said that he expects policymakers to discuss the possibility of a faster taper schedule at the meeting this month.

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