Indian stock benchmarks moved higher on Tuesday, December 28, led by gains in ONGC, Asian Paints, HCL Tech, along with positive global signals. At 9:28 a.m., the Sensex was up 326.62 points to 57,746.86, while the Nifty gained 88.55 points to 17,174.80.
Nearly all sector indices were trading in positive territory. The Nifty Bank index rose more than half a percent and the Nifty Consumer Discretionary gained nearly one percent. HCL Tech, Asian Paints, Axis Bank, Reliance Industries, PowerGrid Corporation of India, Tech Mahindra were among the biggest winners of BSE Sensex. On the other hand, Dr. Reddy’s Labs, Bharti Airtel and Cipla among the biggest losers.
Mid and small cap stocks traded positively as the Nifty Midcap 100 Index rose 1.03 percent and the Nifty Smallcap 100 Index rose 1.46 percent.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.98 percent, while the S&P 500 gained 1.38 percent after hitting a record high during the session. The Nasdaq Composite added 1.39 percent.
The S&P 500 ended at an all-time high Monday after US retail sales data allayed concerns about the contagious Omicron coronavirus variant, which has forced thousands of flight cancellations and stranded cruise ships.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.62 percent, approaching its highest level in more than a month.
In Asia, China reported the highest daily rise in localized COVID-19 cases in 21 months as infections more than doubled in the northwestern city of Xian, the latest hot spot. The Japanese currency weakened to 114,935 yen per dollar for the first time since Nov. 26, approaching this year’s low of 115,525.
In the currency markets, the safe haven of the US dollar was within reach, despite an aggressive turn at the Federal Reserve this month, leading policymakers to announce three-quarter-point rate hikes in 2022. The dollar index fell 0.026 percent, while the euro rose 0.01. percent to $1.1326.
In the crude oil market, US crude recently rose 3.04 percent to $76.03 a barrel and Brent stood at $78.94, up 3.68 percent on the day.
Globally, oil gained more ground on Tuesday, with prices close to a month-long high from the previous session, amid expectations that the variant of the Omicron coronavirus will have only a limited impact on global demand.
Oil prices are up about 50 percent this year, supported by recovering supply and demand constraints by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, collectively known as OPEC+.
Shares of Supriya Lifescience debut in the stock markets today. The initial public offer of Rs 700 crore (IPO) was subscribed to 71.47 times at the end of the bidding process. The IPO had a new issue of up to Rs 200 crore and a sell offer of up to Rs 500 crore. The company sold shares in the price range of ₹265-274 per share.
India reported 6,358 new coronavirus cases on Tuesday, according to the health ministry, bringing the number of active cases to 75,456. Omicron cases have risen to 653 and at least 186 have recovered.