Markets recover over one per cent; Sensex climbs 612 points & Nifty to trade above 16,950

The stock markets continued the rally for the second day on Wednesday, December 22, 2021, and closed with a gain of more than one per cent after a strong session. Both stocks gained amid mixed cues from the global equity markets. The Sensex closed above 56,900 and the Nifty settled above 16,950.

The BSE Sensex climbed 611.55 points, or 1.09 per cent, to settle at 56,930.56. The NSE Nifty 50 also rose 184.60 points, or 1.10 per cent, to end at 16,955.45. In the sectoral indices at the NSE, the Nifty Bank index closed with a gain of 421.65 points, or 1.22 per cent, at 35,029.50.

In the broader markets at the BSE, the S&P BSE MidCap rose 1.47 per cent and S&P BSE SmallCap closed 1.66 per cent higher.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2435 shares rose and 907 shares fell. On the Nifty 50 index at the NSE, 42 shares advanced today and eight shares declined. The top five gainers on Nifty were Hindalco (up 3.95 per cent), Tata Motors (up 3.73 per cent), Divi's Laboratories (up 3.46 per cent), Eicher Motor (up 3.12 per cent) and Bajaj Finance (up 2.93 per cent). The top five losers were SBI Life (down 0.99 per cent), Wipro (down 0.69 per cent), Grasim (down 0.35 per cent), Adani Ports (down 0.29 per cent) and Nestle India (down 0.26 per cent).

Metro Brands IPO Listing: Shares of Metro Brands, one of the largest Indian footwear speciality retailers in India, made a muted debut on the bourses, NSE & BSE, today, as the scrip was listed at Rs 436 on BSE. a discount of 12.8 per cent over its issue price of Rs 500. On the National Stock Exchange (NSE), the stock is listed at Rs 437, a discount of 12.6 per cent over the issue price. At the close, the stock ended at Rs 502 at NSE, at a premium of 0.40 per cent against the issue price of Rs 500. At the BSE, the stock ended at Rs 493.55, at a loss of 1.29 per cent against the issue price.

The initial public offering (IPO) of ace investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala-backed Metro Brands Ltd, closed with 3.64 times subscription on Tuesday, the third and last day for bidding. The Qualified Institutional Buyers (QIBs) portion was subscribed 8.49 times, while the Non-Institutional Investors (NIIs) and Retail Individual Investors (RIIs) portions were subscribed 3.02 times and 1.13 times, respectively. The company has plans to raise up to Rs 1,367.5 crore through the public issue.

CMS Info Systems IPO: The initial public offering (IPO) of CMS Info Systems Limited, India's largest cash management company in terms of the number of ATM points and retail pick-up points, was subscribed 0.52 times on Wednesday, the second day for bidding for the issue. The Non-Institutional Investors (NII) and Retail Individual Investors (RIIs) portions were subscribed 0.04 times and 1.02 times, respectively. Bidding for the CMS Info Systems IPO will end on Thursday, December 23, 2021.

The company seeks to raise Rs 1,100 crore from the initial public offer. The shares of the company will be available for bidding in a price band of Rs 205-216 per share. Retail investors can bid for the public offer for a minimum of 69 equity shares, and in multiples thereof up to 13 lots. At the upper end of the price range, one lot is valued at Rs 14,904 and 13 lots worth Rs 1,93,752. The initial share sale of Mumbai-based CMS Info Systems is entirely an offer for sale (OFS) by promoters and existing shareholders.

Economy

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday holds 8th Pre-Budget consultations with prominent economists in New Delhi in connection with the upcoming Union Budget 2022-23. Minister of State for Finance Dr. Bhagwat Karad, Finance Secretary Dr. T.V. Somanathan, DIPAM Secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey, Department of Economic Affairs Secretary Ajay Seth and other senior officials were present in the meeting.

Omicron is dealing a blow to the world economy just as the pandemic enters its third year as a drag on growth and driver of inflation. According to the latest forecasts by a private data firm, the global economy is expanding just 0.7 per cent in the final three months of the year, half the pace of the previous quarter and below the rate of around 1 per cent witnessed right before the crisis.

The euro area is on pace for a 0.8 per cent expansion in the fourth quarter from the previous three months, which is 0.3 percentage points less than what was projected in November. The US has strengthened slightly and is now registering a 1.2 per cent pace.

Among emerging markets, where readings are based on annualised data, China has weakened to a 4.5 per cent rate this quarter, while Brazil has slumped to 0.2 per cent. Russia, India and South Africa also slipped.

"As 2021 draws to an end, the global economic recovery risks being thrown off track by the omicron variant of the coronavirus," said a chief economist of the firm. "Particularly Europe looks vulnerable: Recoveries for Germany, France and Italy are increasingly under strain from the surge in cases."