Domestic benchmarks closed at fresh highs; Sensex jumped 261 points & Nifty 50 closed at 14,200

After starting the day's trade in red but the domestic indices ended with modest gains on Tuesday, January 5, 2021, led by strength in the banking, financial and IT shares. Sensex and Nifty once again set fresh all-time highs. The S&P BSE Sensex, gained 260.98 points or 0.54 per cent to settle at 48,437.98. The Nifty 50 index added 66.60 points or 0.47 per cent to 14,199.10. After dropping for two consecutive days, Nifty Bank gained 509.80 points or 1.63 per cent to close at 31,722.25.

The broader market at the BSE also gained underperforming the Sensex. The Mid-Cap index surged 1.38 per cent while the Small-Cap index added 0.71 per cent.

Buyers outpaced sellers. On the BSE, 1784 shares rose and 1283 shares fell. On the Nifty 50 index, 23 stocks advanced and 27 declined. The top five gainers on Nifty 50 were Axis Bank (up 6.32 per cent), HDFC (up 2.96 per cent), IndusInd Bank (2.67 per cent), HDFC Life (up 2.54 per cent) and Wipro (up 2.30 per cent). The top five losers were ONGC (down 1.96 per cent), JSW Steel (down 1.87 per cent), Hindalco (down 1.77 per cent), Tata Steel (down 1.73 per cent) and Bajaj Finance (down 1.60 per cent).

COVID-19 update

Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide were at 8,56,75,442 with 18,53,344 deaths. India reported 2,31,036 active cases of Covid-19 infection and 1,49,850 deaths while 99,75,958 patients have been discharged.

National Lockdown imposed in England

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson imposed a national lockdown on England to curb the spread of the new Coronavirus variant. As part of the new restrictions, people can only leave their homes for essentials, work if they cannot from home and exercise. Most schools will also move to remote learning, including universities.

Germany is also expected to extend its own lockdown measures later on Tuesday. According to media reports, the current restrictions - which include the closure of schools, retailers and restaurants - are all set to continue until at least the end of January.

US economic growth

US economic growth could surge later this year if most Americans are vaccinated against the Coronavirus but the gains would unlikely be enough for the Federal Reserve to withdraw its support, Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester said on Monday.

Weekly Installment of GST Compensation

The Ministry of Finance has released the tenth weekly instalment of Rs 6,000 crore to the states to meet the GST compensation shortfall. Now, more than 50 per cent of the estimated GST compensation shortfall has been released to the states and union territories (UTs) with legislative assemblies.