Sensex jumps 403 pts to close at 46,666; Nifty gains 115 pts to 13,683

Benchmark domestic stocks on Wednesday, December 16, 2020, continued their lifetime record-setting rally as they gained around 0.9 per cent amid positive global cues. The BSE Sensex closed above 46,650 and the Nifty settled above 13,650.

The Sensex surged 403.29 points or 0.87 per cent to finish at 46,666.46 and the NSE Nifty 50 index climbed 114.85 points or 0.85 per cent to settle at 13,682.70.

The broader market at BSE also gained as equal as the Sensex. The BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.87 per cent while the BSE Small-Cap index appreciated 0.88 per cent.

Buyers outpaced sellers. On the BSE, 1856 shares rose and 1166 shares fell. On the Nifty 50 index, 36 shares advanced and 14 shares declined. The top 5 gainers on Nifty 50 block were Hindalco (up 2.84 per cent), Bharti Airtel (up 2.80 per cent), HDFC (up 2.75 per cent), Divi's Lab (up 2.59 per cent) and ONGC (up 2.59 per cent). The top five losers were ICICI Bank (down 1.07 per cent), IndusInd Bank (down 0.95 per cent), UltraTech Cement (down 0.83 per cent), GAIL (down 0.68 per cent) and NTPC (down 0.66 per cent).

Kerala local body elections

Counting of votes polled in Kerala local body elections is underway at 244 centres in the state. A total of 21,893 wards in 1,200 local self-governing bodies including six corporations, 941 village panchayats, 14 district panchayats and 87 municipalities, went to polls in three phases on December 8, 10 and 14, 2020. Initial trends from the counting of votes to the local body elections in Kerala show a clear advantage for the ruling CPM-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) in most of the rural and urban local bodies.

As per the latest updates, LDF leads in 514 grama panchayats, United Democratic Front (UDF) 376, and National Democratic Alliance (NDA) 23.

COVID-19 Update

Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide were at 7,34,76,721 with 16,35,464 deaths. India reported 3,32,002 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 1,44,096 deaths while 94,56,449 patients have been discharged, data showed.

US spending package

Optimism over a $1.4 trillion US spending package increased after House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi reportedly invited other top congressional leaders to meet late on Tuesday to hammer out a deal to be enacted this week. Japan's exports declined 4.2 per cent in November as compared with a year ago, data showed.