Sensex ends 477 pts higher, Nifty above 17,200; Asian Paints, Sun Pharma, M&M shine

Indian benchmark indices ended higher for the second straight session on Tuesday, with most of the sectoral indices flashing in green. The equity market witnessed a surge in buying activities across the board, led by the IT, auto, capital goods, and banking stocks. The market sentiment was also boosted by positive cues from global peers which rallied on easing concerns about the Omicron variant of Covid-19.

Extending the previous session’s gains, the BSE Sensex ended 477 points, or 0.83%, higher at 57,897, and the NSE Nifty added 147 points, or 0.86%, to close at 17,233. During the day’s trade, the Sensex climbed 532 points to hit an intraday high of 57,952.

Outperforming the benchmark indices, the broader markets ended with robust gain. The S&P BSE Midcap and the S&P BSE Smallcap indices rose 0.95% and 1.43%, respectively.

The overall market breadth on the BSE was positive, with 2,733 stocks advancing as against 855 declining shares, while 123 remained unchanged.

Auto, capital goods sectors lead rally

The Indian share market witnessed broad-based buying with all sectoral indices settling in green zones. The capital goods sector was the top performer with a 1.56% gain, led by Timken India, Praj Industries, Grindwell Norton, Graphite India, and Sona BLW Precision Forgings.

The capital goods sector was followed by auto space, which ended at 1.26% higher. The top gainers across the auto index were Balkrishna Industries, Mahindra & Mahindra, Cummins India, MRF, and Tata Motors.

Top gainers and losers

The market witnessed broad-based buying with 28 out of the top 30 BSE stocks ending in positive terrain. Asian Paints, one of the country’s leading paint companies, emerged as the top gainer by rising 2.85%.

Some of the other notable gainers on the BSE Sensex pack were Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, Mahindra & Mahindra, UltraTech Cement, and Titan Company, which rose over 2% each.

On the losing side, private lender IndusInd Bank topped the chart with a 0.29% loss. It was followed by state-owned power transmission company, Power Grid Corporation of India, which ended 0.22% lower.

Shares in news

Cipla: Shares of the drugmaker ended 0.24% higher after it received a nod for the launch of Molnupiravir, an anti-viral drug to treat mild to moderate Covid-19. The Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) has granted emergency Use authorisation (EUA) permission to the company to launch the Covid-19 pill. Cipla will launch Molnupiravir under the brand name Cipmolnu.

United Spirits: Shares of the alcoholic beverages company rose 1.5% after Diageo-controlled firm extended the timeline for completing the "strategic review" of its select popular brands, by another three months till March 31, 2022. The review of the selected popular brands, which consist of a portfolio of around 30 brands, will now be completed by March 31, 2022, USL said in a regulatory filing today.

Ajanta Pharma: Shares of the pharma company climbed 4% its board approved a share buyback plan of up to ₹286 crore. The company plans to buy back up to 11,20,000 fully paid-up shares of face value of ₹2 each at a price of ₹2,550 per share payable in cash. The total pay-out towards buyback of shares will not exceed exceed Rs 356 crore, including a share buyback of up to ₹286 crore and tax not exceeding ₹70 crore, on a proportionate basis through the tender offer process.

Bharti Airtel, TCS: Shares of the telecom operator Bharti Airtel and IT major Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) closed higher with marginal gains amid a report that both the companies have teamed up to build a 5G-based remote working technology using robotics.

RBL Bank: Shares of the private sector lender rose 2.9%, reversing some of the previous session losses after the stock was included in F&O ban on the National Stock Exchange. The stock tumbled 18.5% in the previous session after the Reserve Bank of India appointed Yogesh Dayal as an additional director on RBL's board after its managing director and CEO, Vishwavir Ahuja, went on medical leave.

Supriya Lifescience: Shares of the active pharmaceutical ingredients supplier made a strong debut on the domestic exchange and listed at a premium of 55% on the BSE. The stock opened at ₹425 on the BSE against the issue price of ₹274, before closing at 42.46% higher at ₹390.35. The ₹700 crore IPO of the company garnered a strong response from investors as the offer was subscribed 71.51 times during December 16-20.

Asian shares end higher

Shares in the Asia-Pacific region ended higher on Tuesday, led by Japan’s Nikkei 225, following firm cues from Wall Street which finished strong overnight. The easing concerns about the economic impact of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus also boosted market sentiment.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 index ended 1.37% higher, while South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.7%. The Straits Times Index in Singapore gained 0.8% and Thailand’s Set Composite index climbed 0.3%.

In a similar trend, Taiwan Weighted Index surged 0.8%, Indonesia’s Jakarta Composite soared 0.35%.

Reversing early losses, China’s Shanghai Composite closed 0.4% higher, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 0.24%.

Meanwhile, European markets traded mostly higher in holiday-thinned trade on Tuesday, following positive cues from global peers. Markets in the U.K. and Ireland remain closed due to the Christmas festivities.