Benchmarks hit day's high as crude prices drop, Nifty hovers near 18,600; BPCL up over 4%

The key equity indices further extended gains and hit fresh intraday high in the afternoon trade. The Sensex and the Nifty hit record high levels today amid falling crude oil prices. IT, banks and financial stocks were in demand. However, metals, realty and consumer durables stocks declined.

At 13:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 373.37 points or 0.6% to 62667.01. The Nifty 50 index added 85.25 points or 0.46% to 18,598.

The two benchmarks hit fresh all time highs in intraday today at 18,611.05 for Nifty 50 index and 62,690.39 for Sensex.

BPCL (up 4.21%), Reliance Industries (up 3.42%), Hero Motocorp (up 2.17%), Asian Paints (up 1.42%) and Nestle India (up 1.26%) were top Nifty gainers.

Hindalco Industries (down 2.26%), JSW Steel (down 1.69%), Apollo Hospitals Enterprise (down 1.46%), Tata Steel (down 1.22%) and Coal India (down 1.04%) were major Nifty losers.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.69% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index added 0.65%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2,071 shares rose, and 1,463 shares fell. A total of 178 shares were unchanged.

Global Markets:

In the commodities market, Brent crude for January 2023 settlement dropped $2.41 or 2.88% to $81.30 a barrel, following reports of unrest in China over Covid control measures imposed in that country. China is the world's biggest crude importer.

The Dow Jones index futures were down 115 points, indicating a weak opening in the US stock market today.

Asian stocks tumbled on Monday amid unrest in China over its continued zero-Covid policy. Fears about a Covid-led dent to China's economic growth weighed on sentiment in the world's second-largest economy after demonstrators and police clashed in Shanghai on Sunday.

Over the weekend, the People's Bank of China announced it would cut the reserve requirement ratio for banks by 25 basis points to 7.8% and inject around 500 billion yuan in long-term liquidity. The National Bureau of Statistics said industrial profits for the first 10 months of the year fell 3% from the same period in 2021.

In Singapore, the country's core inflation rate eased 0.2% to 5.1% in October on an annualized basis, the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) reported - after seeing the same index at 5.3% in September.

U.S. stocks ended mixed in a shortened trading session Friday, with markets subdued following Thursday's Thanksgiving holiday.

Black Friday sales kicked off against the backdrop of high inflation and cooling economic growth. US shoppers reportedly spent a record $9.12 billion online this Black Friday, as consumers weathered the squeeze from high inflation and grabbed steep discounts on everything from smartphones to toys.

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