Stock Markets continued to grow for 6th day; Sensex rallies 133 points & Nifty 50 rose 0.35%

Domestic equity benchmarks ended with decent gains after a volatile session on Wednesday, December 30, 2020, led by financial and cement stocks. The S&P BSE Sensex ended 133.14 points or 0.28 per cent higher at 47,746.22. The Nifty 50 index gained 49.35 points or 0.35 per cent, to close near 14,000 mark at 13,981.95. However, Nifty Bank failed to close in a green and lost 19.45 points or 0.06 per cent and closed at 31,303.05. The Nifty Bank rose 441.55 points or 1.43 per cent to settle at 31,322.50.

The broader market at the BSE, the BSE Small-Cap index advanced 0.37 per cent, while the Mid-Cap index gained 0.53 per cent.

The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 1675 shares rose and 1275 shares fell. In the Nifty 50 index, 34 stocks advanced and 16 stocks declined. The top five gainers on Nifty 50 block were UltraTech Cement (up 4.42 per cent), Grasim (up 3.03 per cent), Shree Cement (up 2.98 per cent), Bajaj Finance (up 2.59 per cent), and Eicher Motor (up 2.46 per cent). The top five losers were IndusInd Bank (down 1.47 per cent), Sun Pharmaceuticals (down 1.10 per cent), Axis Bank (down 1.05 per cent), State Bank of India (down 0.86 per cent) and Bharti Airtel (down 0.82 per cent).

COVID-19 update

Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide were at 81,975,991 with 1,789,007 deaths. India reported 262,272 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 148,439 deaths while 9,834,141 patients have been discharged.

6th round of talks between the government and farmers' unions

The government has invited the protesting farmer' unions for talks today to end the impasse over the three farm laws. This will be the sixth round of talks between the government and farmers to end the impasse over the three farm laws. The talks have begun in New Delhi. The Centre has written to the 40 protesting farmers' unions and invited them for talks. Union Ministers Narendra Singh Tomar, Piyush Goyal and Som Prakash are present in the meeting. Apart from the farm laws, discussions will be held on Minimum Support Price (MSP) and on legislations related to air quality and the electricity and the electricity are also expected to be deliberated upon during the meeting. The government has reiterated that it is committed to finding a logical solution on all relevant issues raised by the farmers with a clear intention and an open mind.

US economic data

In US economic data, the S&P Case-Shiller home price index for October showed a year-over-year rise of 7.9%, the fastest pace in six years. US President Donald Trump signed legislation late Sunday providing $900 billion in aid to individuals and businesses and $1.4 trillion to fund government agencies. Mr Trump has called for the direct payments included in the bill to be increased to $2,000 from $600, and the House voted Monday to approve a measure increasing the size of the stimulus checks.

Germany's Export

German exports shrank by at least 12 per cent this year as demand from the US and Britain collapsed due to the Coronavirus pandemic while Asia remained the only bright spot for the German economy, data showed on Tuesday. German exports to the US fell 16 per cent and exports to Britain tumbled by 18.5 per cent.