IT, pvt banks propel Sensex, Nifty 0.5% higher; HP Adhesives surges 22% on debut

Indian benchmark indices ended higher on Monday, reversing early losses, amid buying in select pharma, finance and IT stocks. The domestic market opened lower today following mixed cues from Asian peers as investors weighed concerns about the Omicron variant of Covid-19.

Reversing previous session’s losses, the BSE Sensex ended 296 points, or 0.52%, higher at 57,420, and the NSE Nifty surged 82.5 points, or 0.49%, to 17,086. During the day’s trade, the Sensex climbed 969 points from the day's low to hit a high of 57,512.

In line with the benchmark indices, the broader markets also settled higher. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap and the S&P BSE Small-Cap indices rose 0.27% and 0.52%, respectively.

The overall market breadth on the BSE was negative, with 2,272 stocks advancing as against 1,433 declining shares, while 174 remained unchanged.

Top gainers and losers

Tech Mahindra, an information technology services and consulting company, topped the BSE Sensex gainers’ chart by rising 3.57%. The stock has witnessed a strong rally this year, gaining 84% this year, while it hit a fresh lifetime high today.

Some of the other notable gainers were Dr. Reddy's Laboratories, Power Grid Corporation, Kotak Mahindra Bank, and Sun Pharmaceutical Industries.

On the losing side, private sector lender IndusInd Bank emerged as the biggest loser by falling 0.55%. The other notable losers on the BSE Sensex pack were Asian Paints, Maruti Suzuki India, Bharti Airtel, and ITC.

Health care and consumer durable sectors lead gain

The equity market witnessed broad-based buying with all sectoral indices, barring metal and FMCG, ending in positive terrain. The health care sector was the top performer with a 1.37% gain, led by Bliss GVS Pharma, Gufic BioSciences, Morepen Laboratories, Narayana Hrudayalaya, and Natco Pharma.

The healthcare sector was followed by consumer durables, which ended 0.85% higher. The top gainers across CDS index were Dixon Technologies (India), Blue Star, Vaibhav Global, Crompton Greaves Consumer Electricals, and Bajaj Electricals.

Shares in news

RBL Bank: Shares of the private sector lender ended 18% lower on Monday after its Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Vishwavir Ahuja went on leave with immediate effect. Weighed down by the development, the stock hit a new 52-week low at Rs 132.35 in the early morning trade.

HP Adhesives: Shares of adhesive and sealant company ended 22% higher against the issue price on the first day of trade. The stock made a strong debut on the BSE Sensex, listing 16% higher at ₹319 compared to its issue price of ₹274 a share. The ₹125.96 crore IPO of the company had received strong response from investors.

GMR Infrastructure: Shares of the infrastructure company climbed 7.97% after it inked a shareholder pact with Indonesia's Angkasa Pura II for the development of Medan Airport on December 23. GMR Airports, a part of GMR Group, has signed the deal through its subsidiary GMR Netherlands BV for the development and operation of Kualanamu International Airport (Project) in Medan, Indonesia.

RattanIndia Enterprises: The share price of the company dropped 4% after it announced the appointment of Amitav Panigrahi as Chief Executive Officer of its fintech business. Panigraphi was previously associated with YES Bank, working as president - digital transformation, strategic alliances and fintech partnerships.

Inox Leisure: Shares of Indian movie theater chain closed 4% lower on Monday. The company in an exchange filing said it has commenced the commercial operations of a multiplex cinema theatre in Gurugram from December 24, 2021.

Lupin: Shares of drug maker rose more than 2% after it received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (US FDA) for its abbreviated new drug application (ANDA) to market Sevelamer Carbonate for oral suspension. The drug is used for controlling serum phosphorus with chronic kidney disease (CKD) on dialysis.

Asian shares end lower

Shares in the Asia-Pacific region ended mostly lower in thin trade on Monday amid concerns around the spread of the Omicron variant. Markets in Australia, Hong Kong and New Zealand remained closed for the Christmas holidays. As per the latest report, Omicron variant’s daily cases in the U.S. have breached those in the delta wave, while China reported the highest number of local cases since January.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 index ended 0.37% lower, while South Korea’s Kospi fell 0.4%. The Straits Times Index in Singapore dropped 0.13% and Thailand’s Set Composite index settled marginally lower.

China’s Shanghai Composite ended tad lower, reversing early gain, even after the country’s central bank vowed support for the real economy by possibly loosening its monetary policy.

On the flip side, the Taiwan Weighted Index surged 0.5%, and the Indonesia’s Jakarta Composite rose 0.19%.

Meanwhile, European markets edge higher in opening trade on Monday with most of regional markets still closed on Christmas eve. Investors weighed concerns about Covid-19 curbs and tighter central bank policies.