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Indian markets ended a choppy session stronger powered by gains in oil & gas, IT and pharma shares, though losses in financial and auto scrips limited the upside. Today, the markets are likely to get gap-down opening amid losses across other Asian markets. Traders will be concerned as WHO flags new Covid-19 strain. World Health Organization officials met on Thursday to discuss a new coronavirus variant circulating in South Africa and Botswana. The new variant, called B.1.1529, carries an unusually large number of mutations, Francois Balloux, director of the UCL Genetics Institute. Also, foreign fund outflow likely to dent sentiments in the markets. Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) remained net sellers for Rs 2300.65 crore in the Indian markets, provisional data showed on the NSE. There will be some cautiousness as a report by ICRA said the Reserve Bank of India's revision of bad loan recognition and upgradation norms could bring a sharp spike in the non-performing assets of non-banking finance companies (NBFCs) in the country. However, some respite may come as Acuite Ratings and Research said India's Q2FY22 GDP is expected to grow by 8.5 per cent on a year-on-year (YoY) basis amid support from a favourable base. Some support may come as Investments in Indian capital through participatory notes (P-notes) rose to Rs 1.02 lakh crore till October-end, making it the highest level in 43 months. Also, Niti Aayog Vice-Chairman Rajiv Kumar said the government is committed to improving the ease of doing business in the country. Besides, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) Secretary Anurag Jain said foreign direct investment (FDI) proposals are being cleared and as of today only 29 applications are pending. Meanwhile, Tarsons Products shares will list on the stock exchanges today. The Rs 1,023 crore IPO of the life sciences company was heavily subscribed by investors earlier this month. The issue price has been fixed at Rs 662 per share.

The US markets remained closed on Thursday owing to the Thanksgiving holiday. Asian markets are trading in red on Friday as a new virus variant added to concerns about growth and interest rates going forward.

Back home, Indian equity benchmarks ended higher with gains of over half percent on Thursday, on the back of consistent buying support in index heavyweights -- Reliance Industries, ITC and Infosys. Market opened on a weak note amid mixed global cues. Some concern also came with report indicating that foreign institutional investors (FIIs) have been on a selling spree in India this financial year, with November seeing an outflow of over Rs 17,900 crore in the equity cash market, taking the net outflow in the segment since April to almost Rs 87,000 crore. During the afternoon session, market recovered and gained momentum to enter into green terrain, as traders turned optimistic with a private report stating that Official data print on the GDP will show a 7.8 per cent expansion on a year-on-year basis for the September 2021 quarter. Some support also came with Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla’s statement that the government has set an ambitious target of $400 billion exports for financial year 2021-22. Key gauges extended their gains to trade near day’s high points in late afternoon session, as sentiments were upbeat as Moody’s expects India's economic growth to rebound strongly, pegging GDP growth of 9.3% and 7.9% in fiscal year 2022 (ending on 31 March 2022) and fiscal 2023, respectively. It also said growing government spending on infrastructure will support demand for steel and cement. It added rising consumption, India’s push for domestic manufacturing and benign funding conditions will support new investments. Meanwhile, the Income Tax Department said it has issued refunds of over Rs 1.23 lakh crore so far this fiscal year. This includes 75.75 lakh refunds of Assessment Year (AY) 2021-22 amounting to Rs 15,998.31 crore. Finally, the BSE Sensex rose 454.10 points or 0.78% to 58,795.09 and the CNX Nifty was up by 121.20 points or 0.70% to 17,536.25

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