The stock market indices opened on a positive note on December 23, amidst postive global cues. At 09:16 AM, the Sensex was up 296.89 points or 0.52 percent at 57,227.45. The Nifty was up 87.40 points or 0.52 percent at 17042.90. About 1,508 shares have advanced, 271 shares declined, and 50 shares are unchanged.
Among early gainers at the opening bell were Adani Ports, Bajaj Finance, IOC, Bajaj Finserv and ONGC while major losers were UPL and Divis Labs.
On December 22, Nifty extended the gains to the second consecutive day. At close, Nifty was up 1.1 percent or 184.6 points at 16955. In the process, Nifty was the best performer in the Asian region.
Nifty rose but has halted near the downgap resistance of 16966. In case this resistance is crossed on December 23, then we could see Nifty rising towards 17,192 while 16,771-16840 could be the support band in the near-term.
PM Modi to hold COVID-19 review meeting
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold a meeting on the Coronavirus (COVID-19) situation in the country today.
US stocks log second straight win on December 22
US stock indexes logged a second straight gain on Wednesday, with benchmarks adding substantially to Tuesday’s strong rebound in what has been a volatile holiday-shortened week. Investors cheered positive economic data and the White House said it was resuming talks on a massive social spending and climate change bill with a holdout senator.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average inched up 0.38 percent to 35,627.38, while the S&P 500 gained 0.49 percent to 4,672.06. The Nasdaq Composite added 0.46 percent to 15,411.69. MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe gained 0.53 percent.
A trio of studies of preliminary data from Scotland, Imperial College, London and South Africa showed that Omicron strain may be less likely to land patients in the hospital than the delta strain.
US third-quarter gross domestic product was raised to show expansion of 2.3 percent from a previous 2.1 percent. A closely watched consumer confidence survey came in stronger than expected, rising to 115.8 in December from a reading of 111.9 in the prior month.
Asian shares rally
A global share rally continued in early Asian trading on Thursday as markets took cheer from positive signs about the impact of the omicron variant of COVID-19 and U.S. economic data.
Japan's Nikkei gained 0.3 percent and MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.6 percent, a third successive session of gains after taking a jolt on Monday when fears about the new strain of coronavirus gripped markets and pushed investors to safe haven assets, Reuters said.
Fuel prices remain unchanged
The prices of petrol and diesel prices remained unchanged on Thursday. Petrol costs Rs 95.41 in Delhi, while diesel costs Rs 86.67 per litre. In Mumbai, petrol retails at Rs 109.98 per litre and diesel at Rs 94.14 per litre. In Kolkata, petrol costs Rs 104.67 per litre and diesel 89.79 per litre while in Chennai, petrol is being retailed at Rs 101.40 per litre and diesel at Rs 91.43 per litre respectively in Chennai.
Oil prices steady
Oil prices were steady as fears of tight supply were offset by COVID-19 concerns. US crude recently rose 1.08 percent to $71.89 per barrel and Brent was at $74.59, up 0.82 percent on the day, Reuters said. Germany, Scotland, Ireland, Portugal, the Netherlands and South Korea are among the countries to have reimposed lockdowns or other restrictions on activity in recent days.
Dollar index declines
Currency market moves were generally muted as trading slowed before the Christmas holidays. The US dollar index fell 0.272 percent, Reuters said. Cryptocurrencies slipped slightly, with bitcoin down 0.04 percent to $48,910.51, still well below the all-time high of $69,000 hit in November.
Medplus Health Services to make stock market debut
Pharmacy retail chain MedPlus Health Services Ltd will make its stock market debut today after its initial public offering (IPO) was oversubscribed 52.59 times.
The IPO had a fresh issue of up to Rs 600 crore and an offer-for-sale of up to Rs 798.30 crore. The price range for the IPO was Rs 780-796 per share.
The company mobilised Rs 418 crore from anchor investors. The proceeds from the fresh issue will be used for funding the working capital requirements of the company's subsidiary Optival.
