Sensex up 424 pts, Nifty above 17,900 mark; breadth positive

The benchmark indices were trading near the day's high in mid-afternoon trade. At 14:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, soared 423.89 points or 0.71% at 60,279.82. The Nifty 50 index surged 121.70 points or 0.68% at 17,926.95. Firmness in banks and financial stocks boosted the indices.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.28% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 0.05%.

The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 1,816 shares rose and 1,540 shares fell. A total of 93 shares were unchanged.

COVID-19 Update:

In last 24 hours, India recorded 58,097 new COVID-19 cases taking the country's active caseload to 2,14,004 patients. The country reported 534 new deaths taking the death toll to 4,82,551 since the beginning of the pandemic.

Meanwhile, India recorded 2,135 cases of Omicron infection as of Tuesday, the most in Maharashtra with 653 cases, followed by Delhi with 464 cases.

Economy:

On 4 January 2022, the former State Bank of India chairman Rajnish Kumar, at a virtual event organised by the IMC Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said that India needs to accelerate economic growth to above 8% to achieve its target of becoming a $5-trillion economy by 2025.

India Services PMI:

The seasonally adjusted India Services Business Activity Index fell to a three-month low of 55.5 in December, from 58.1 in November.

Numbers to Track:

The yield on 10-year benchmark federal paper fell to 6.515% as compared with 6.518% at close in the previous trading session.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee higher against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 74.3475, compared with its close of 74.58 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 4 February 2022 settlement fell 0.09% to Rs 47,907.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, fell 0.09% to 96.18.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for March 2022 settlement fell 7 cents at $79.93 a barrel.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Metal index rose 1.04% to 5,665.15. The index lost 0.38% in the past trading session.

Jindal Steel & Power (up 3.18%), JSW Steel (up 2.83%), Tata Steel (up 2.14%), Hindustan Copper (up 1.61%) and SAIL (India) (up 1.59%) were the top gainers in the Metal segment.

Global Markets:

European shares were almost flat while most Asian stocks declined on Wednesday, 5 January 2022 as global markets react to rising U.S. bond yields. Investors are awaiting the minutes from the Fed's meeting in December, due later in the day, and the U.S. jobs report, due to be released on Friday, for clues on the Fed's potential pace of the hikes.

In US, the Institute for Supply Management said on Tuesday that its index of US factory activity fell to a reading of 58.7 last month from 61.1 in November, the lowest tally since last January.

Meanwhile, global benchmark Brent crude jumped on Tuesday to $80 a barrel, its highest since November, as OPEC and its non-OPEC allies, known collectively as OPEC+, agreed to stick to its planned increase for February based on indications that the Omicron coronavirus variant would have only a mild impact on demand.

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