Equity Benchmarks ends with deep cuts; Sensex witnesses steep fall of 1190 points & Nifty plunges 401 points

Domestic equity barometers ended with deep cuts after a weak session on Monday, December 20, 2021, mirroring weak global cues amid news of a sharp jump in the COVID cases globally, which may result in a lockdown. The Sensex closed near 55,800 and the Nifty settled near 16,600 level.

As per provisional closing data, the S&P BSE Sensex slumped 1189.73 points, or 2.09 per cent, to 55,822.01. The Nifty 50 index tumbled 371 points, or 2.18 per cent, to close at 16,614.20. The Nifty Bank index slipped 1,178.80 points or 3.31 per cent to end at 34,439.85.

In the intraday trade, the Sensex touched an intraday low of 55,132.68 and a high of 56,538.15. Similarly, the Nifty 50, touched the intraday low of 16,410.20 and high of 16,840.10.

The broader markets at the BSE underperformed the Sensex with S&P BSE MidCap and S&P BSE SmallCap settling 3.42 per cent and 3.31 per cent lower, respectively. In the sectoral indices at NSE, all the indices closed in negative territory.

India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, jumped 16.08 per cent higher at 18.97.

The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 747 shares rose and 2696 shares fell. On the Nifty 50 index at the NSE, three shares advanced and 47 shares declined. The three gainers on Nifty were Cipla (up 3.71 per cent), Hindustan Unilever (up 1.78 per cent) and Dr Reddy's Laboratories (up 0.95 per cent). The top five losers were BPCL (down 6.49 per cent), Tata Motors (down 5.24 per cent), Tata Steel (down 5.22 per cent), IndusInd Bank (down 3.96 per cent) and Bajaj Finance (down 3.93 per cent).

All Future Group companies were locked in the upper circuit. Future Retail (up 20 per cent), Future Enterprises (up 20 per cent), Future Consumer (up 20 per cent), Future Lifestyle Fashions (up 20 per cent), Future Supply Chain Solutions (up 20 per cent) and Future Market Networks (up 5 per cent) advanced.

Shriram Properties Listing: Shares of Shriram Properties Limited, a south-based real estate developer and part of Shriram Group, made a weak stock market debut on Monday. Shares of one of the largest real estate players in the country were listed at a 20.34% discount to Rs 94 per share on the BSE against its issue price of Rs 118 per share. Shares declined by Rs 24 per share on its debut. The stock is listed with a discount of 23.72% at Rs 90 per share at NSE compared to the issue price of Rs 118 per share. At the close, the shares of the company closed at Rs 98.95 per share on the NSE, a discount of 16.14 per cent against the issue price of Rs 118. At the BSE, it closed at Rs 99.40 per share, a discount of 15.76 per cent from the issue price.

The Rs 600-crore IPO was subscribed 4.8 times. The Qualified Institutional Buyers (QIBs) portion was subscribed 1.04 times, while the Non-Institutional Investors (NII) and Retail Individual Investors (RIIs) portions were subscribed 0.80 times and 7.46 times, respectively.

Supriya Lifescience IPO: The initial public offering (IPO) of Supriya Lifescience Limited, a manufacturer and supplier of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API), was subscribed 71.47 times by 5:56 pm on Monday, the third and the last day of bidding. The Qualified Institutional Buyers (QIBs) portion was subscribed 31.83 times while the Non-Institutional Investors (NIIs) and Retail Individual Investors (RIIs) portions were subscribed 161.22 times and 55.77 times, respectively. The three-day issue will close today. The offer price has been fixed at Rs 265-274 per equity share. The company has plans to raise up to Rs 700 crore through this public offer. The issue comprises a fresh issue of up to Rs 200 crore and an offer for sale (OFS) of up to Rs 500 crore. Investors were eligible to bid for a minimum of 54 equity shares and in multiples of 54 shares thereof. Retail investors can invest a minimum of Rs 14,796 for one lot, and their maximum investment is Rs 1,92,348 for 13 lots.

Economy

Indian economy is all set for a strong rebound in the current fiscal posting a growth rate of 9-10 per cent, says a CEOs poll conducted among the members of the CII National Council. A large number of CEOs polled, however, appeared worried about the impact of the new COVID variant Omnicron on services and the manufacturing sector.

As regards growth, about 10 per cent of the CEOs polled believe that it could even exceed 10 per cent during 2021-22. CII President T V Narendran said the government's strong emphasis on public works, timely interventions to boost liquidity and several reforms carried out in recent months have buoyed the optimism on higher economic growth. The poll is based on the responses of about 100 CEOs.

The Netherlands entered full lockdown on Sunday until mid-January, and the possibility of tighter restrictions being imposed over the Christmas holidays and into the new year looms over a number of European countries amid an unprecedented surge in COVID-19 cases.

From Monday, only German citizens, residents and transit passengers will be allowed to enter Germany from the UK, with all inbound travellers required to quarantine for 14 days irrespective of vaccination status.

Travel restrictions were also imposed for arrivals from Denmark, Norway and France. Austria will only allow entry to vaccinated travellers from Monday. In Asia, China on Monday announced a cut in its one-year loan prime rate from 3.85 per cent to 3.8 per cent.