Sensex rallies 350 pts; PSU banks in demand

Equity indices were hovering near record high levels in early afternoon trade. The Nifty scaled 13,850 level. All the sectoral indices on the NSE were trading in the green with realty, PSU banks and metal shares gaining the most.

At 12:25 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 350.66 points or 0.75% to 47,324.07. The Nifty 50 index added 110.65 points or 0.8% at 13,859.65.

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 traded with decent gains as well. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.95% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index rallied 1.29%.

 

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 1980 shares rose and 831 shares fell. A total of 179 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.

Derivatives:

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of market's expectation of volatility over the near term, rose 3.15% to 20.5975. The Nifty December 2020 futures were trading at 13,858.65, at a premium of 20.5 points compared with the spot at 13,838.15.

The Nifty option chain for 31 December 2020 expiry showed maximum Call OI of 50.57 lakh contracts at the 14,000 strike price. Maximum Put OI of 53.67 lakh contracts was seen at 13,000 strike price.

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 PSU Bank index surged 2.21% to 1,741.45, extending its winning run to fourth consecutive trading session. The index has added nearly 6% in four trading days.

Indian Bank (up 4.17%), Canara Bank (up 3.81%), Punjab National Bank (up 3.02%), Bank of Baroda (up 2.71%), Central Bank of India (up 1.81%), Bank of India (up 1.74%), J&K Bank (up 1.73%) and Union Bank of India (up 1.51%) climbed.

Stocks in Spotlight:

NIIT spurted 3.59% after the company said its board approved a proposal to buyback upto 98.75 lakh equity shares at Rs 240 each for an aggregate amount not exceeding Rs 237 crore. The buyback amounts to approximately 6.978% of the total issued and paid up equity share capital of the company.

Dish TV India slumped 4.59% to Rs 14.16 after the company said that it has received a notice from the government for payment of Rs 4,164.05 crore for licence fee. The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has directed the company to remit the said within a period of 15 days. However, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting mentioned that the amount is further subject to verification and audit and the outcome of various court cases pending before the Telecom Dispute Settlement Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT), High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and the Supreme Court of India, in the matter of DTH License fee.

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