Sensex zooms 673 pts, Nifty above 17,800

Mumbai, Jan 4: The BSE Sensex surged by 673 points and the Nifty breached the 17,800-level on Tuesday on account of hectic buying across sectors.
Continuing its winning momentum for the third straight session, the 30-share BSE benchmark opened with significant gains and saw further consolidation as the trade progressed. It finally closed at 59,855.93, clocking a gain of 672.71 points or 1.14 per cent.
Likewise, the NSE Nifty rose 179.55 points or 1.02 per cent to end at 17,805.25.
On the Sensex chart, major gainers were NTPC, PowerGrid, SBI, Titan, Reliance, Bajaj Finance and Axis Bank, rising as much as 5.48 per cent.
On the other hand, Sun Pharma, Ultratech Cement, IndusInd Bank and Dr Reddy’s closed in the red.
“US markets setting record highs on the first trading day of 2022 is auspicious for global stock markets,” said V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services.
If the FIIs’ buying of Monday is an indication of their renewed interest in India, financials particularly the leading banks, are likely to continue the momentum witnessed in the previous session, he added.
However, the third wave of the pandemic is an area of concern even though the market’s view is that it is unlikely to impact economic activity, Vijayakumar opined.
Elsewhere in Asia on Tuesday, bourses closed mixed as concerns over the Omicron variant tempered optimism set off by a rally on Wall Street.
Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude rose 0.27 per cent to USD 79.19 per barrel.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net buyers in the capital market on Monday, purchasing shares worth Rs 575.39 crore, exchange data showed. (AGENCIES)
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BIZ-RUPEE-CLOSE
Rupee falls 29 paise to close at 74.57 against US dollar
Mumbai, Jan 4:
The rupee on Tuesday slumped 29 paise to close at 74.57 (provisional) against the US dollar, tracking the strength of the American currency in the overseas market.
Forex traders said growing concerns over the Omicron variant of coronavirus and its impact on economic recovery as well as firm crude oil prices weighed on the local unit.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local currency opened at 74.49 and witnessed an intra-day high of 74.46 and a low of 74.61 against the US dollar.
The local unit finally settled at 74.57, down 29 paise over its previous close of 74.28.
The dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.02 per cent up at 96.23.
Meanwhile, Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, advanced 0.39 per cent to USD 79.29 per barrel.
On the domestic equity market front, the BSE Sensex ended 672.71 points or 1.14 per cent higher at 59,855.93, while the broader NSE Nifty jumped 179.55 points or 1.02 per cent to 17,805.25.
Foreign institutional investors remained net buyers in the capital market on Monday, as they purchased shares worth Rs 902.64 crore, as per exchange data.
On the domestic macroeconomic front, India’s exports in December surged 37 per cent on an annual basis to USD 37.29 billion, the highest-ever monthly figure, on the back of healthy performance by sectors like engineering, textiles and chemicals, even as the trade deficit widened to USD 21.99 billion.
Imports in December too rose by 38 per cent to USD 59.27 billion on account of an increase in oil imports, which soared 65.17 per cent to USD 15.9 billion, government data showed on Monday. (AGENCIES)
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