Sensex down 76 pts; FMCG stocks decline

Equity indices erased gains and traded with tiny losses in early afternoon trade. The Nifty was hovering near the 17,200 mark. Pharma and healthcare stocks were in demand while FMCG shares declined.

At 12:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 76 points or 0.13% to 57,821.12. The Nifty 50 index fell 25 points or 0.15% to 17,208.10.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.01% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 0.3%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 1978 shares rose and 1286 shares fell. A total of 117 shares were unchanged.

COVID-19 Update:

In last 24 hours, India added 9,195 new COVID-19 cases taking India's active caseload to 77,002 patients. Total Omicron cases in the country stand at 781 with Delhi recorded a spike of 73 patients.

Derivatives:

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of market's expectation of volatility over the near term, fell 0.36% to 16.415. The Nifty 30 December 2021 futures were trading at 17,198, at a discount of 20 points as compared with the spot at 17,218.

The Nifty option chain for 30 December 2021 expiry showed maximum Call OI of 92.6 lakh contracts at the 17,500 strike price. Maximum Put OI of 109.6 lakh contracts was seen at 17,000 strike price.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty FMCG index fell 0.42% to 37,005.90 and was a top loser among other sectoral indices on the NSE. The index gained 0.76% in the previous trading session.

Colgate Palmolive (down 0.66%), Radico Khaitan (down 0.65%), United Spirits (down 0.53%), Hindustan Unilever (down 0.37%) and Britannia (down 0.33%) were top losers in FMCG segment.

Economy:

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on December 28 cleared the rules for tightening initial public offerings (IPOs) near the end of a year in which companies raised a record Rs.1.2 lakh crore in first-time share sales.

These rules will address gaps like conditions for the objective of IPOs, utilisation of proceeds from the share sales, price bands, anchor investors' lock-in period and the size of the stake a majority shareholder may sell on listing day.

Currently, shareholders can sell their entire shareholding through an offer for sale, but the market regulator has now mandated that shareholders who hold 20% or more cannot exit more than 50% of their stake on listing day.

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