Sensex Rises Over 300 Points, Nifty Trades Above 17,180 On Global Cues

The Indian equity benchmarks edged higher on Tuesday, December 28, led by gains in ONGC, Asian Paints, HCL Tech, along with positive global cues. As of 9:28 am, the Sensex was up 326.62 points at 57,746.86, while the Nifty gained 88,55 points to 17,174.80.

Almost all sectoral indices were trading in the positive territory. Nifty Bank index was up over half a per cent and Nifty Consumer Durables gained nearly one per cent. HCL Tech, Asian Paints, Axis Bank, Reliance Industries, PowerGrid Corporation of India, Tech Mahindra were among the top BSE Sensex gainers. On the other hand, Dr Reddy's Labs, Bharti Airtel, and Cipla were among the top losers.

Mid- and small-cap shares were trading on a positive note as Nifty Midcap 100 index was up 1.03 per cent and Nifty Smallcap 100 index rose 1.46 per cent.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.98 per cent, while the S&P 500 gained 1.38 per cent after hitting a record high during the session. The Nasdaq Composite added 1.39 per cent.

The S&P 500 ended at a record high on Monday after US retail sales data eased worries from the infectious Omicron coronavirus variant, which has forced thousands of flight cancellations and stranded cruise ships.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.62 per cent, nearing its highest level in over a month.

In Asia, China reported its highest daily rise in local COVID-19 cases in 21 months as infections more than doubled in the northwestern city of Xian, its latest hotspot. The Japanese currency weakened as far as 114.935 yen per dollar for the first time since November 26, approaching the year-to-date low of 115.525.

In foreign exchange markets, the safe-haven US dollar was rangebound, despite a hawkish turn at the Federal Reserve this month that saw policymakers signal three quarter-point rate hikes in 2022. The dollar index fell 0.026 per cent, with the euro up 0.01 per cent to $1.1326.

In the crude market, US crude recently rose 3.04 per cent to $76.03 per barrel and Brent was at $78.94, up 3.68 per cent on the day.

Globally, oil gained more ground on Tuesday with prices trading close to last session's one-month high on expectations that the Omicron coronavirus variant will have only a limited impact on global demand.

Oil prices have risen around 50 per cent this year, supported by recovering demand and supply cuts by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, collectively known as OPEC+.

Shares of Supriya Lifescience will debut on the stock markets today. The Rs 700-crore initial public offer (IPO) was subscribed 71.47 times by the end of its bidding process. The IPO had a fresh issue of up to Rs 200 crore and an offer for sale of up to Rs 500 crore. The company sold shares in the price band of Rs 265-274 per equity share.

India reported 6,358 new coronavirus cases on Tuesday, according to the health ministry, pushing its active caseload to 75,456. Omicron cases have risen to 653 and at least 186 have recovered.