Indices extend gains for second straight day, Sensex surges 1,345 points

The benchmark equity indices on the BSE and National Stock Exchange (NSE) rose for the second consecutive day, surging over 2.5 per cent on Tuesday taking cues from their global peers which rose on optimism about an easing of China’s crackdowns on tech and Covid-19.

The S&P BSE Sensex rallied 1,344.63 points (2.54 per cent) to end at 54,318.47 while the Nifty 50 climbed 417.00 points (2.63 per cent) to settle at 16,259.30. Both the indices had opened over 0.5 per cent higher earlier in the day and rose higher in the intraday trade with the Sensex touching a high of 54,399.42 and the broader Nifty hitting 16,284.25.

All the stocks on the Sensex pack ended higher on Tuesday. Tata Steel, Reliance Industries (RIL), ITC, Wipro, ICICI Bank and Larsen & Toubro (L&T) were the top gainers on Tuesday.

In the broader markets, the S&P BSE MidCap index closed at 22,700.87, up 555.77 points (2.51 per cent) while the S&P BSE SmallCap settled at 26,318.08, up 712.09 points (2.78 per cent). The volatility index or India VIX slipped 7.27 per cent) to 22.7425.

Speaking on the market movement, Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services said, “After a long gap, the market has witnessed a strong resilience supported by heavyweights and broader markets. The market was trading at oversold territory and was inspired by optimism in the Asian markets led by Chinese technology stocks, in hopes of easing regulatory crackdown and declining covid cases.”

Speaking on the market movement, Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services said, “After a long gap, the market has witnessed a strong resilience supported by heavyweights and broader markets. The market was trading at oversold territory and was inspired by optimism in the Asian markets led by Chinese technology stocks, in hopes of easing regulatory crackdown and declining covid cases.”

LIC Listing News Today
Among individual stocks, the shares of insurance sector giant Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) made a weak debut in the stock exchanges today listing over 8 per cent lower from their issue price.

The LIC scrip had opened at Rs 867.20 apiece on the BSE, down 8.62 per cent from the issue price of Rs 949. On the NSE, it opened 8.11 per cent lower at Rs 872.00 per share.

Throughout its first session, the stock traded lower from the issue price, hitting a high of Rs 920.00 on BSE and Rs 918.95 on NSE. On the lower side the stock touched Rs 860.10 on BSE and Rs 860.00 on NSE.

Eventually it settled at Rs 875.45 on the BSE, down Rs 73.55 (7.75 per cent) from the issue price and at Rs 873.00, down Rs 76 (8.01 per cent) on the NSE.

“The much-watched LIC’s IPO showed a subdued listing. However, we believe that LIC is a decent investment opportunity in the short to medium-term; considering its deep discount valuation, strong market presence, improvement in future profitability due to the changes in surplus distribution norms and strong sector growth outlook,” Nair said.

Global market
Asian shares led a global rally on Tuesday on optimism about an easing of China’s crackdowns on tech and COVID-19, but concerns about rising prices worldwide set a nervy tone in markets as investors wait for more signals from policymakers.

European shares followed the positive start in Asia, with the STOXX index of Europe’s 600 biggest stocks up 0.62% and U.S. stock futures, S&P 500 e-minis, suggesting Wall Street would follow suit.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan gained 1.5% on Tuesday, but the index is still down 6.4% so far this month. In Tokyo, the Nikkei rose 0.33% in afternoon trade, while in Australia the S&P/ASX200 index gained 0.25%.

Mainland China’s CSI300 Index gained 0.95% while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was 2.35% higher, as tech firms listed in the city jumped more than 4% on hopes of Beijing’s crackdown on the sector being relaxed.