The benchmark indices advanced further and hit fresh intraday high in afternoon trade. The Nifty continued to trade above the 13,850 level. Banks, financials, metals and realty stock led the rally.
At 13:24 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 335.93 points or 0.72% to 47,309.47. The Nifty 50 index added 113.20 points or 0.82% at 13,862.45.
Tata Motors (up 4.86%), JSW Steel (up 2.87%), SBI Life (up 2.81%), HDFC Life (up 2.38%) and Titan Company (up 1.95%) were the top Nifty gainers.
Shree Cement (down 0.80%), Hindustan Unilever (down 0.67%), Britannia Industries (down 0.44%), HDFC (down 0.30%) and Eicher Motors (down 0.14%) were the top Nifty laggards.
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 traded with decent gains as well. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.76% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index rallied 1.37%.
The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 1932 shares rose and 972 shares fell. A total of 184 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.
Stocks in Spotlight:
Westlife Development rose 2.41% to Rs 441.25. The company said that it had resumed new store openings across its markets. The Company has opened four new stores post March 2020 as it steadily continues to move towards pre-COVID levels of business. In another development, the royalty for FY21 as also FY 22 remains at 4%, it added.
Biocon slipped 3.27% to Rs 466.05. The company said that its subsidiary, Biocon Biologics, had been informed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of a deferred action on the Biologics license application (BLA) for MYL-1402O, a proposed biosimilar to Avastin (bevacizumab). Avastin is a cancer medicine that interferes with the growth and spread of cancer cells in the body.
Biocon further said that to complete the application, the Agency noted that an inspection of the manufacturing facility is required as a part of the standard review process. However, due to restrictions on travel related to COVID-19, the Agency is unable to conduct an inspection during the current review cycle. We await the dates for the inspection, it added.
Global Markets:
European markets advanced on Monday as traders react to Brexit developments and as President Donald Trump signed a $900 billion COVID-19 relief bill into law. The UK FTSE 100 index will remain closed today for the holidays.
U.S. President Donald Trump signed into law a $2.3 trillion pandemic aid and spending package he had until now refused to sign.
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.
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.
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