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Investors shrug off Omicron
Market rebounds on bargain hunting
Despite weak global cues, key indices –Sensex, Nifty–moved up for 2nd consecutive session; IT, financials and metal stocks support indices on strong macroeconomic data
New Delhi: Key indices on Thursday extended gains as BSE Sensex gained 776.50 points or 1.35 per cent to end the session at 58,461.29 points. NSE Nifty too added 234.75 points or 137 per cent and closed at 17,401.65 points. However, fears of a potential rise in the number of Omicron infections in several countries, including India, capped the upside in indices.
Investors seem to be not bothered by the looming shadow of Omicron over the world, observe analysts. IT, financial, metal stocks supported the indices. Further, market sentiment was positive on the encouraging macroeconomic data, they said. Besides, healthy GST collections along with strong manufacturing growth data kept the positive sentiment intact. Vinod Nair, head (research) at Geojit Financial Services, said: "Irrespective of the weak sentiments in the international markets, domestic indices continued to rise due to gains in IT, financials and metal stocks amid strong domestic macroeconomic data. The Fed Chair's remarks stating a possibility of a faster end to the bond-buying programme and interest rate hike along with the first confirmed case of the Omicron variant in the US triggered a fresh global sell-off." Initially, the market opened on a positive note and remained in the green throughout the session.
In terms of global markets, Asian stocks were mixed as they struggled to find direction in the absence of solid information about the Omicron variant of Covid-19.
Besides, European stocks ticked lower after a slide on Wall Street late in the previous session, as the new Omicron variant continued to drive market volatility. On the domestic front, power, oil & gas and IT indices rose the most. Deepak Jasani, head (retail research), HDFC Securities, adds: "Nifty nicely build on the gains made on December 2 and crossed the crucial 17,355-level. Now the next resistance for Nifty is at 17,536, while support could come in at 17,213."
In terms of stocks, the shares of Adani Ports, Power Grid, HDFC, Sun Pharma and Grasim Industries were the top gainers during the session, NSE data showed.
As per NSE, stocks of these companies closed 4.53 cent, 3.76 per cent, 3.75 per cent, 3.33 per cent and 3.19 per cent up from their previous close, respectively. On the contrary, stocks such as Cipla, ICICI Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank were some of the top losers during the session, data showed.
