Dalal Street rally in 2022 debut; Sensex surges 929 pts on banks, financials boost

Indian benchmark indices kicked off the new trading year on a robust note on Monday as investors cheered strong macro data, while firm cues from global peers also boosted market sentiment. The market sentiment was also lifted by rise in Goods and Services Tax (GST) collection last month, which indicated a surge in consumption activities in the economy. The market sustained a strong rally even as India's manufacturing activity lost some steam in December, with the Manufacturing PMI dropping to a three-month low of 55.5.

Extending gains for the second session, the BSE Sensex ended 929 points, or 1.6%, higher at 59,183 on the first day of the new calendar year 2022. In a similar trend, the NSE Nifty rallied 271 points, or 1.57%, to close at 17,625.

Early today, the Sensex started the day with modest gain, following mixed cues from global peers, but soon gathered momentum to hit a day’s high of 59,266 points amid hopes about global economic growth despite rising Covid-19 cases.

The market witnessed broad-based buying, with broader markets also settling with a robust note. The S&P BSE Midcap and the S&P BSE Smallcap indices gained 1.1% and 1.2%, respectively.

The overall market breadth on the BSE was strong, with 2,843 stocks advancing against 958 declining shares, while 159 remained unchanged.

Top gainers and losers

Out of 30 stocks on the BSE Sensex pack, Bajaj Finance emerged as a top performer by ending 3.5% higher amid a slew of positive development. The financial services company has teamed up with CARS24, an e-commerce website for pre-owned vehicles, to provide car financing services. In a separate development, RBL Bank has extended credit card partnership with the Bajaj group company for five years.

Some of the other top gainers included Bajaj Finserv, ICICI Bank, Tata Steel, IndusInd Bank, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, SBI, TCS, HDFC, RIL, HDFC, among others.

On the losing side, pharma major Dr. Reddy's Laboratories topped the chart by falling 1.13%. The other losers on the BSE Sensex include Mahindra & Mahindra, Tech Mahindra, Nestle India, and Titan Company.

Barring healthcare, all sectors end in green

The domestic equity market started the year 2022 on a firm note with all sectoral indices flashing in green. Barring healthcare, all sectors ended in positive terrain, while bank and metal space gained the most.

The BSE Bankex index was the top performer on the sectoral front with a 2.55% gain. The gain in bankex index was led by Federal Bank, Au Small Finance Bank, ICICI Bank, IndusInd Bank, and HDFC Bank.

The banking sector was followed by the metal index, which ended 2.12% higher. In the BSE Metal index, Coal India, Vedanta, Tata Steel, SAIL, Jindal Steel & Power were among top gainers.

Bucking the bullish trend, the health care index ended with a 0.21% loss, led by Indoco Remedies, Sastasundar Ventures, Laurus Labs, J B Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals, Syngene International.

Shares in news

Edelweiss Financial Services: Shares of the company ended 5.4% higher after the firm said it has raised over ₹456 crore through public issuance of non-convertible debentures (NCDs). The company in an exchange filing said it has successfully completed the issuance and allotted 45,62,472 NCDs with the face value of ₹1,000 each, amounting to ₹456 crore.

Tata Motors: Shares of auto major surged 3% after it after it posted a 50% rise in passenger vehicle sales in December 2021. It sold 35,299 units last month compared to 23,545 units in December 2020. In the third quarter ended December 2021, total passenger vehicle sales rose 44% to 99,002 units compared to the prior year.

NTPC: Shares of state-owned power utility company surged 1.5% on reports to buy a 5% stake in Power Exchange of India Ltd (PXIL), the country’s first institutionally promoted power trading platform. The PXIL provides innovative and credible electricity trading solutions.

Natco Pharma: Shares of pharma company gained 2.25% after its wholly-owned arm Natco Pharma Inc completed the acquisition of US-based Dash Pharmaceuticals LLC.

Textile stocks: Shares of textile companies such as Vardhman Textiles, Sangam India, and Cantabil Retail extended rally on Monday amid improved outlook. The stock price of Vardhman Textiles and Sangam India hit fresh record highs, while Cantabil Retail touched a 52-week high in intraday trade. Last week, the GST Council on Friday deferred the hike in tax rate on textiles from 5% to 12%.

Global stocks start new year on robust note

Overseas, most of Asian stocked closed higher on Monday, while European stocks also kicked off new year on a positive note amid holidays in various markets. The persistent concerns over rising Omicron infections around the world as well as halt in trading of China Evergrande Group restricted markets’ gain. Meanwhile, markets in Australia, China, Japan, Thailand, and New Zealand were closed on New Year's Eve.

In the Asia-Pacific region, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index ended with a 0.53% lower as investors remain concerned about suspension of trading of debt-laden China Evergrande Group.

Indonesia’s Jakarta Composite emerged as the top performer in the region by rising 1.27%, while South Korea’s KOSPI surged 0.37%.

The Straits Times index in Singapore also closed 0.34% higher, while the Taiwan Weighted index surged 0.28% higher.

Meanwhile, in European market, Germany’s DAX surged 0.8%, while France’s CAC 40 rallied nearly 1%. Italy’s FTSE MIB also gained nearly 1% in early trade, while Spain’s IBEX climbed 0.6% on the first trading day of the new year.