CLOSING BELL | Bulls back on Dalal Street as Sensex zooms 929 pts led by banks & financials

Markets started the year 2022 on a firm note and gained over one and a half percent. After a strong uptick, the benchmark moved from strength to strength, thanks to healthy buying in the banking & financial pack which was closely followed by metal and auto.

"The participation of the banking pack has changed the market mood of late while other things remain the same. However, the update on the COVID situation combined with the performance of the global markets would play a critical role ahead. Now, the next hurdle is at 17,750 in Nifty. We reiterate our view to focus on the selection of stocks while keeping a check on the leveraged positions," saidAjitMishra, VP - Research atReligareBroking

India VIX was up by 1.43 percentfrom 16.22 to 16.45 levels. "Volatility has been hovering near 16 levels from the last three sessions and needs to cool down to 15-14 zones for stability in the market," saidChandanTaparia,Vice President|Analyst-Derivatives atMotilalOswalFinancial Services.

On Option front, since it is the beginning of new series, option data is scattered at various strike price. Maximum Call open interest is at 17500 then 18000 strike while Maximum Put open interest is at 17000 then 16500 strike. "Option data suggests a wider trading range between 17000 to 18000 zones while immediate trading range in between 17400 to 17800 zones," he said.

On stocks front, "bullish setup was seen in Coal India, Eicher Motors, Vedanta, Max Financial Services, Bajaj Finance, ICICI Bank, Tata Motors, HDFC Bank, IDFC First Bank, Indian Energy Exchange, L&T Infotech, Muthoot Finance, Axis Bank, Tata Steel, Astral, Tata Chemicals, UPL, L&T Technology, Ramco Cement, TCS, JSW Steel and L&T while weakness in Cipla, Godrej Consumer Products, M&M, Bandhan Bank, UBL and Biocon," said Chandan Taparia.

"As India widens its vaccine coverage, Bulls ushered in the New Year in style as the Nifty Bank led the rally with good support from other sectoral indices buoyed by positive global cues. As India achieved the fastest rate of growth in Renewable Energy capacity addition during the last few years, it is indeed remarkable that the country was able to meet its non-fossil fuel targets almost a decade ahead of its committed deadline. Market Breadth was extremely positive with a host of Small & Midcaps across sectors posting smart gains," saidSRanganathan, Head of Research atLKPSecurities.

"The Nifty50 index has marched forward gallantly and is all set to move up higher. As expected on Friday, we have achieved the target of 17,600. We should now be headed to 17,850 as the next level of resistance. Post that 18,050 would be the next possible target for the Nifty. Since we are in positive terrain, any drop or intra day dip can be utilized to accumulate buy positions for higher targets," saidManish Hathiramani, proprietary index trader and technical analyst at Deen Dayal Investments.

"Rupee traded muted in range near 74.30 as it tried to settle. Good secondary market participation gave a positive trigger but strength in the dollar index kept the rupee in a small range. Going ahead range for rupee can be between 74.10-74.55 a dollar," saidJateenTrivedi, Senior Research Analyst atLKPSecurities.

Bulls maintained charged at Dalal Street as the BSE Sensex rallied 929 points and the Nifty50 closed above 17,600 levels, led by banks & financials.

All the sectoral indices, barring Pharma, closed in the green, with Banking & Financials, Metal, IT and Auto leading the rally.

The BSE Sensexclimbed 929.40 points or 1.60 percent to59,183.22, and the Nifty50 jumped271.70 points or1.57 percent to17,625.70, while Nifty Bank was up 940.20 points or 2.65 percent at36,421.90.

Indian markets opened on a positive note on the first trading day of the year despite mixed Asian market trade. During the afternoon session markets maintained their upward momentum and continued to trade in positive territory, following gains in auto, banking and realty stocks. Healthy buying was observed in blue-chip stocks.

"Sentiments were upbeat as Finance Ministry said that Goods and Services Tax (GST) revenues grew 13 per cent to over Rs 1.29 lakh crore in December 2021, as compared to Rs 1.15 lakh crore GST revenues in the same month last year, mainly due to pickup in economic activity and anti-evasion steps. However, traders overlooked report that India’s manufacturing activity lost some momentum in December easing to a three month low after hitting a 10 month high in November, amid fears that the rapidly spreading third wave of the Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic may hit consumer sentiment and output," saidNarendraSolanki, Head- Equity Research (Fundamental), at AnandRathiShares & Stock Brokers.

The state governments have imposed several COVID-19 restrictions to check the spread of virus, but there is no major lockdown-like situation seen in 2020, though India reported 33,750 cases in the 24 hours to 8am on Monday, the highest since September 2021, which overall seems to be making the street happy as there won’t be impact on earnings and economic growth.

“Even though Omicron is spreading fast, the market doesn’t expect any restriction on the economic activity that will impact growth and earnings,” said VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services.

Lower number of hospitalisations and occupation of ICU beds amid an unprecedented surge in COVID-19 infections is a “huge relief”, Biocon chairperson Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw told CNBC-TV18 in anexclusive interviewon January 3.

On the Omicron variant, Mazumdar-Shaw said the variant is “surging fast, but also descends quickly”, adding: “We need to brace ourselves for many variants, Omicron is not the last.”

She added that hospitals are “more prepared this time and we are veering towards an endemic situation” and that Delta “should also not be a huge worry” as we now know how to deal with it.

The Biocon chief added that added that hospitals are “more prepared this time” and Delta is also not as big a worry as we now know how to deal with it... Read More

Market Update

:

The benchmark indices remained strong for second consecutive session with the Nifty50 rising 279.60 points or 1.61 percent to17,633.60, and the BSE Sensex climbing963.27 points or 1.65 percent to59,217.09.

The broader markets also joined the party, with the Nifty Midcap 100 and Smallcap 100 indices rising more than1 percent each.