Market Wrap, Dec 17: Here's all that happened in the markets today

Bulls remained in the driver's seat at the bourses on Thursday as investors lapped up blue-chip stocks. Heavyweights like HDFC, Bajaj Finance, HDFC Bank, and Reliance ended between 0.5 per cent and 3 per cent higher and supported the indices to settle at record closing peaks for the fourth straight day.

At the index level, the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex settled at 46,890 levels, adding 224 points or 0.48 per cent. In the intra-day deals, the index nearly kissed the 47,000-mark and hit a lifetime high of 46,992.

The broader Nifty50 index, on the other hand, surged 58 points, or 0.42 per cent, to end at 13,741 levels. It hit a record high of 13,773 during the day.

The broader markets, however, erased their gains and settled the day in the red. The S&P BSE MidCap index, after hitting a fresh 52-week high of 18,107, closed at 17,864, down 0.13 per cent. The S&P BSE SmallCap index, meanwhile, closed at 17,811, down 0.23 per cent.

According to Vinod Nair, head of research at Geojit Financial Services, US Fed's policy decision to keep rates unchanged and assurance of continued support through further stimulus until the economy reaches the employment and inflation target gave confidence to the bulls. Along with this, the market inched higher on expectations of upcoming events like stimulus packages, Brexit progress and vaccine developments.

He further adds that the rally in mid and small caps could be slowing down as they ended in the red today. He advises investors to stay cautious.

On the technical charts, the Nifty index formed Higher High, Higher Bottom Formation, suggesting bullish momentum in the index. The upside target for the Nifty remains around 13,900-14,000 levels, while Immediate support is placed at 13,660.

Among individual stocks, shares of Burger King India were locked in the 10 per cent lower circuit band at Rs 179.35 on the BSE as investors booked profit. The stock fell 18 per cent from its intra-day high of Rs 219.15.

Meanwhile, pharma major Divi's Laboratories market capitalisation topped the Rs 1-trillion mark after the firm's stock price hit a new high of Rs 3,832 on Thursday. At close, the m-cap stood at Rs 1.01 trillion on the BSE.

In the primary market, the 3-day IPO offer of Mrs Bectors' Food was subscribed nearly 198 times till 4:15 pm on the final day of the issue.

Global markets

Asian stocks scaled record heights while the dollar plumbed two-year lows and oil prices hit their strongest since March on Thursday, as monetary support and the hope of fiscal stimulus in the United States put traders in a festive mood.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan hit record-high, and ended 0.4 per cent higher. Japan's Nikkei, meanwhile, settled 0.18 per cent to sit just shy of a 29-year peak.

In Europe, shares remained at 10-month highs as potential Covid-19 vaccine rollouts in Europe strengthened the case for a global economic recovery. Germany's DAX climbed 1 per cent to hit its highest since February, while the pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.5 per cent, both extending gains to a fourth straight session.

In the commodities segment, gold futures gained nearly 1% to quote at Rs 50,060 per 10 gm.