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Bulls strengthened grip on Dalal Street on Tuesday with Nifty reclaiming its crucial 17,200 mark, while Sensex ending near 57,900 mark. Markets started the day on an optimistic note as India’s exports in the first three weeks of December rose 36.20% on-year at $23.82 billion. Outbound shipments were 27.7% higher than the same period of 2019-20. Export excluding petroleum, oil and lubricants increased 28.08% over the corresponding period last year. Traders took note of a private report that spiralling prices pinched the pocket of consumer as edible oil, fuel and many other commodities turned dearer this year amid pandemic-induced disruptions but the inflationary pressure is anticipated to ease, though marginally, in the coming months. Markets extended gains as traders took support with private report stating that the Indian economy is likely to maintain a real GDP growth of 9 percent each in FY2022 and FY2023 amid uncertainty triggered by the Omicron variant of corona virus.

In last leg of trade market witnessed a sudden fall and markets pares some of their profit after Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal’s statement that yellow alert has been sounded in Delhi and some restrictions imposed under the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) in view of rising number of Covid cases in the city. But, the selling was short and markets fully recovered in dying hour of trade as traders continued to buy fundamentally strong stocks. Some support came with report that the Centre has extended the existing Covid-related restrictions in the country till January 31, 2022, in view of the rising cases of Covid-19 and Omicron variant in the country. On December 27th, the number of Omicron cases in India rose to 578. Meanwhile, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) pumped in a record $10.8 billion (Rs 79,851 crore) in the Indian primary market so far this year. FPIs surpassed the previous high of $9.7 billion in 2020, despite continued withdrawal from Indian equities and bonds amid fears of a rapid spread of the Omicron variant of COVID-19.

Positive opening in European markets too aided sentiments with key gauges trading in green as general market bullishness - or complacency appears to have set in for investors. However, gains were capped as traders weighed mixed government responses to the omicron variant. Asian markets ended higher on Tuesday, after industrial output in Japan advanced a seasonally adjusted 7.2 percent on month in November. The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said that beat expectations for an increase of 4.8 percent and was up from the 1.8 percent gain in October. On a yearly basis, industrial production improved 5.4 percent - again topping forecasts for a gain of 2.5 percent following the 4.1 percent contraction in the previous month.

Back home, textile stocks remained in focus as the government is sticking to its decision to implement uniform goods and services tax (GST) rate at 12% on manmade fibre (MMF), MMF yarn, MMF fabrics and apparel from January 1, 2022, despite demands from traders and states. Telecom stocks zoomed as Department of Telecommunications (DoT) said commercial 5G services will be rolled out in selected cities in India in 2022.

Finally, the BSE Sensex surged 477.24 points or 0.83% to 57,897.48 and the CNX Nifty was up by 147.00 points or 0.86% to 17,233.25.       

The BSE Sensex touched high and low of 57,952.48 and 57,650.29, respectively and there were 28 stocks advancing against 2 stocks declining on the index.  

The broader indices ended in green; the BSE Mid cap index gained 0.95%, while Small cap index up by 1.42%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Capital Goods up by 1.56%, Basic Materials up by 1.50%, Industrials up by 1.48%, Consumer Discretionary Goods & Services up by 1.36% and Auto up by 1.26%, while there were no losers on the BSE sectoral front.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Asian Paints up by 2.85%, Sun Pharma up by 2.59%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 2.53%, Ultratech Cement up by 2.16% and Titan Company up by 2.12%. On the flip side, Indusind Bank down by 0.29% and Power Grid Corporation down by 0.22% were the only losers.

Meanwhile, amid robust external demand for goods, the Commerce and industry ministry data has showed that India’s exports rose by 36.2 per cent to $23.8 billion during the first three weeks of December 2021 (during December 1-21), over the same period of 2020-21 ($17.49 billion). It was up by 27.70 per cent over the same period of 2019-20 ($18.65 billion).

Export of other items, excluding petroleum oil and lubricants, increased more than 28 per cent (December 1-21) over the same period of 2021 as well as 2020 and 2019. According to data, the value of exports grew by over a fourth to $7.36 billion during the third week of December as compared to the same time period of 2021. It was up 15.4 per cent during the same time period in 2020.

The pace of growth in exports was slower in November. Exports growth fell to 26.49 per cent in November from 43.05 per cent in the previous month. In terms of absolute value, it fell to $29.8 billion, the lowest in nine months. Besides, India aims to achieve a target of $400 billion in the current fiscal year, and has met nearly two-thirds of its annual export target during April-November.

The CNX Nifty traded in a range of 17,161.15 and 17,250.25 and there was 47 stocks advancing against 3 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Asian Paints up by 2.93%, Sun Pharma up by 2.64%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 2.46%, Ultratech Cement up by 2.22% and Titan Company up by 2.08%. On the flip side, Indusind Bank down by 0.30%, Power Grid Corporation down by 0.24% and ICICI Bank down by 0.03% were the few losers.

European markets were trading higher, France’s CAC gained 32.42 points or 0.45% to 7,172.81 and Germany’s DAX was up by 109.12 points or 0.69% to 15,944.37.

Asian markets ended higher on Tuesday tracking overnight gains in Wall Street following strong retail sales data. Chinese shares settled higher as Chinese authorities unveiled sweeping regulations governing overseas share sales by the country's firms, taking one of its biggest steps to tighten scrutiny on international debuts in the wake of Didi Global Inc.’s controversial listing. The Chinese central bank PBoC injected 200 billion yuan ($31.39 billion) through seven-day reverse repos into the banking system. Japanese shares advanced by data for Japan's factory output in November, which surged 7.2% against forecast for a rise of 4.8%. Moreover, Seoul shares gained as investors bought shares before the ex-dividend date. However, investors were concerned about the rapidly spreading omicron Covid-19 variant and its possible impact on the global economy.

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