Indian benchmark indices ended higher for the second straight session on Wednesday, with the BSE Sensex and the NSE Nifty rising over 1% each. The market sentiment was boosted by gains in index heavyweights such as Reliance Industries, Sun Pharma, SBI, Bharti Airtel, Bajaj Finance, Tata Steel, and L&T.
Extending gains for the second session, the BSE Sensex closed 611.55 points, or 1.09 %, higher at 56,930, and the NSE Nifty settled at 16,955, up by 184.6 points or 1.1 %.
The market witnessed a surge in buying activities despite growing concerns about the economic impact of the Omicron variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The strong rebound in the U.S. stocks and positive leads from Asian peers also boosted market sentiment.
On the sectoral front, all the indices closed in positive terrain, while realty and consumer good stocks gained the most. The BSE Realty index ended 2.93% higher, led by Brigade Enterprises, Macrotech Developers, Prestige Estates Projects, Oberoi Realty, and Sobha.
The realty index was followed by the BSE CGS index, which rose 2.01%. GMR Infrastructure, HEG, Honeywell Automation, Carborundum Universal, and ABB India were among top gainers in the sectoral space.
Broader markets shine
Outperforming the benchmark indices, the broader market ended on a strong note. The BSE Midcap ended 1.5% higher, while the BSE Smallcap index surged 1.66%.
The market breadth, indicating the overall strength, was positive, with 2,555 stocks rising against 1,027 declining shares, while 137 remained unchanged.
Top gainer and losers
The top gainer on the BSE Sensex pack was Bajaj Finance, which surged 2.94%. The other notable gainers were Bharti Airtel, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, Reliance Industries and State Bank of India, which rose over 2% each.
On the losing side, Power Grid Corporation declined the most by falling 2.47%. The other top laggards include Wipro, ITC, Nestle India, and Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC).
Shares in news
Zee Entertainment: Shares of the Indian media conglomerate ended 0.5% higher in choppy trade after it approved merger with Sony Pictures Networks India. Japanese conglomerate Sony’s India unit will hold a majority 50.86% of the combined entity, while the Zee founders will hold 3.99% share in the company. The other ZEEL shareholders will own a 45.15% stake in the merged entity.
Cadila Healthcare: The share price of the drug maker surged 2.6% after it received tentative approval from the US health regulator to market Pimavanserin tablets in the American market. The drug is used in the treatment of certain mental disorders that might occur with Parkinson's disease. The drug will be manufactured at the group’s formulation manufacturing facility at the SEZ, Ahmedabad.
Deepak Nitrite: Shares of the chemical manufacturer climbed 2.5% after its board approved raising funds of up to ₹2,000 crore through a qualified institutional placement (QIP). The fund raise proposal is subject to shareholder’s approval and other requisite permissions and sanctions.
ABB India: Shares of ABB India gained 3.5% after it announced to sell its turbocharger business for ₹310 crore. The company said in an exchange filing that its board has decided to incorporate a wholly-owned subsidiary to which it will sell its turbocharger business for ₹310 crore.
PNC Infratech: Shares of the construction company jumped 4.3% after it received a letter of award by NHAI for a project worth ₹369 crore. The company has bagged the contract for the project 'Collection of user fee at Eastern Peripheral Expressway (EPE) Fee Plazas’ on national highways in the states of Haryana and Uttar Pradesh on EPC mode for a period of one year.
YES Bank: Shares of the private sector lender surged nearly 5% after its board approved the fundraising proposal to support business growth. The bank plans to raise funds up to ₹10,000 crore through various instruments, including equity and bonds.
Metro Brands: Shares of Mumbai-based footwear retailer closed 1.3% lower against the issue price on its stock market debut. The Rakesh Jhunjhunwala-backed stock opened at ₹436 apiece on the BSE, a discount of 12.8% to its offer price of ₹500. On the NSE, the shares were listed at a discount of 12.6% at ₹437 per share. The company has raised ₹1,367.5 crore through a public issue of 2.73 crore equity shares at ₹500 per share.
Global markets rebound as Omicron fear eases
Overseas, Asian shares closed mostly higher on Wednesday, barring China, as investors’ appetite for riskier assets improved despite persistent concerns about the outlook for global recovery amid rising Omicron cases. European shares also gained ground following positive leads from Wall Street which finished higher overnight.
In Asia-Pacific region, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index emerged as the biggest gainer by rising 0.6%. Japan’s Nikkei 225 settled with 0.16% gain, while South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.3%. The Straits Times Index in Singapore ended 0.08% higher, Australia’s ASX 200 climbed 0.13%, and Thailand’s Set Composite index rose 0.3%.
Bucking the trend, China’s Shanghai Composite dropped 0.07%, while Indonesia’s Jakarta Composite fell 0.4%, paring opening gains.
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