The stock market indices opened higher today (December 22). At 09:16 AM, the Sensex was up 404.31 points or 0.72 percent at 56,723.32. The broader Nifty up 118.50 points or 0.71 percent at 16,889.30. About 1,421 shares have advanced, 313 shares declined, and 57 shares are unchanged.

Among major gainers on the Nifty were HCL Technologies, Tata Motors, HUL, Hindalco and Bajaj Finserv. Early losers at the opening bell were Power Grid Corporation, Shree Cements, IOC, SBI Life Insurance and Nestle.

On December 21, the Nifty broke a two day losing streak to end in the positive on December 21. At close, Nifty was up 0.94 percent or 156.6 points at 16,770.8. Nifty in its bounce has faced resistance from the down gap of 16,966 (intra day high 16,936). It corrected from above but still managed to end in the positive. This upward momentum could last a couple of days. Advance decline ratio ended in the positive. 16,891-16,966 remains a resistance band for the Nifty while 16,688 is a support.

US stocks close higher

US stock indexes finished sharply higher Tuesday, ending a selloff in the past three sessions, as the Biden administration vowed to shun March 2020-style lockdowns and outlined plans to fight rising COVID-19 cases driven by the Omicron variant.

Investors also were encouraged by news on Monday that the Senate will vote on President Biden’s Build Back Better economic plan in January despite Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin’s opposition to it, suggesting further negotiations with the West Virginia lawmaker are likely.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.56 percent to 35,478.48, while the S&P 500 gained 1.61 percent to 4,641.34. The Nasdaq Composite added 2.02 percent to 15,282.95. MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe was up 1.52 percent.

Asian stocks up

A global rebound in stocks moderated in Asia on Wednesday as investors weighed uncertainty over the omicron virus strain’s economic impact and a foggy outlook for US fiscal stimulus.

Zee-Sony merger

The board of directors of Zee Entertainment Enterprises (ZEE) has approved the binding agreement with Sony Pictures Networks India (SPN), a subsidiary of Sony Pictures Entertainment a day after the 90-day exclusivity period of the non-binding bid ended Tuesday.

Sony will hold 50.86 percent stake in the merged entity, promoters of ZEEL will hold 3.99 percent, and the other ZEEL shareholders will hold a 45.15 percent stake in the merged entity, according to news reports.

Metro Brands to make market debut today

Footwear retailer Metro Brands Ltd, which is backed by ace investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala collected a little over Rs 410 crore from anchor investors ahead of its IPO.

The company has allotted 82.05 lakh equity shares to anchor investors at Rs 500 apiece, taking the total transaction size to Rs 410.25 crore, according to a BSE circular.

The issue, with a price band of Rs 485-500 per share, opens for public subscription on December 10 and will conclude on December 14. At the upper end of the price band, the public issue is expected to fetch Rs 1,367.5 crore.

Oil prices up

Oil prices rebounded from concerns the spread of Omicron would crimp demand for fuel and signs of improving supply. US crude was last up 3.99 percent to $71.35 per barrel and Brent was at $74.10, up 3.61 percent on the day.

US dollar index flat

The US Dollar Currency Index was near flat on the day at around 96.53 after slipping as low as 96.336 earlier in the session. The yen, considered a safe-haven asset, weakened 0.43 percent to 114.08 per dollar.

Bitcoin gained 4 percent to $48,700 after trending lower for the past few weeks.

Fuel prices unchanged

Petrol and diesel prices remained unchanged on Wednesday across various cities in the country including Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, and Chennai.

Diesel and petrol prices in Delhi stood at Rs 86.67 per litre and Rs 95.41 per litre, respectively. In Mumbai, petrol is retailed at Rs 109.98 per litre, while diesel is being sold at Rs 94.14 per litre.

Diesel and petrol prices also remained static in Kolkata at Rs 89.79 and Rs 104.67. In Chennai too, they remained unchanged at Rs 91.43 and Rs 101.40.

(With inputs from Reuters)