Sensex, Nifty trade with decent gains; Asian shares advance

The domestic equity barometers continued to trade with decent gains in mid-morning trade. At 11:22 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 266.53 points or 0.57% to 47,240.07. The Nifty 50 index added 88.40 points or 0.64% at 13,837.65.

Investor sentiment was upbeat after President Trump signed a $2.3 trillion pandemic aid while the U.K. and the E.U. struck a a Brexit trade deal last week.

The broader market outperformed the benchmarks. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.98% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index added 1.25%.

Buyers outpaced sellers. On the BSE, 1917 shares rose and 786 shares fell. A total of 167 shares were unchanged.

Strong foreign portfolio inflows also boosted sentiment. Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth Rs 1,225.69 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net sellers to the tune of Rs 1,897.92 crore in the Indian equity market on 24 December, provisional data showed.

COVID-19 Update:

Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 80,762,012 with 1,764,317 deaths. India reported 277,301 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 147,901 deaths while 9,782,669 patients have been discharged, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Metal index rose 1.68% to 3,197, extending gains for fourth day in a row. The index has added 5.23% in four sessions.

APL Apollo Tubes (up 5.72%), Welspun Corp (up 5.36%), SAIL (up 3.15%), JSW Steel (up 2.36%), NMDC (up 2.29%), MOIL (up 1.91%), Jindal Steel & Power (up 1.76%), National Aluminum Co. (up 1.59%), Tata Steel (up 1.12%), Hindalco Industries (up 0.87%), Ratnamani Metals Tubes (up 0.77%) advanced.

Coal India gained 2.17% to Rs 139.15. The state-run coal miner announced that its board has accorded its approval to venture into aluminium chain and solar power value chain. The company will set up three specific-purpose vehicles (SPVs) subject to obtaining concurrence from Niti Aayog and DIPAM. The company will set up solar power value chain business vertical, new & renewable energy (non-conventional) business vertical and Integrated Aluminium complex: a greenfield project by Central Coalfields, a subsidiary of Coal India.

Global Markets:

Shares in Asian mostly edged higher on Monday, following the positive end to Wall Street in the previous session. Markets in Australia and New Zealand are closed on Monday for a holiday.

Meanwhile, shares of Chinese tech giant Alibaba in Hong Kong were in the spotlight once again on Monday. That came after Chinese regulators ordered Alibaba-affiliate Ant Group to rectify its businesses. The stock had also dived last Thursday following reports that Chinese regulators will probe the tech behemoth for suspected monopolistic behaviour.

Profits at Chinese industrial firms in November rose 15.5% as compared with a year earlier, according to data released by the country's National Bureau of Statistics over the weekend.

In US, the S&P 500 ended higher at the close of a shortened session on Thursday as investors headed into the long Christmas weekend.

U.S. President Donald Trump signed into law a $2.3 trillion pandemic aid and spending package he had until now refused to sign.

Meanwhile, finally the United Kingdom prime minister Boris Johnson and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen struck a trade deal on 24 December 2020 after hard negotiations for last nine months. The trade agreement contains provisions on several subjects including nuclear energy, fishing, aviation and medicines.

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