Sensex Edges Lower, Nifty Retreats From 17,200 On F&O Expiry Day, Mix Global Cues
Nifty 50 index retreated from its 17,200 level in early trade
Indian equity benchmarks edged lower on Thursday, December 30, on the F&O expiry day, with derivatives closing tracking mixed global cues. The Sensex BSE Sensex was trading in the red below 57,780, while the Nifty 50 index retreated from its 17,200 level. Index heavyweights like Reliance Industries, HDFC Bank fell in early trade.
Wipro, Tata Consumer Products, Eicher Motors, Power Grid Corporation of India were the top gainers. On the flipside, Bajaj Auto, Bajaj Finserv, Sun Pharma, Indian Oil Corporation, Hero MotoCorp were the top losers on the NSE.
Mid- and small-cap stocks traded mixed, down 0.11 per cent in the Nifty Midcap 100 index, while the Nifty Smallcap 100 index gained 0.30 per cent.
Asian stock markets got off to a listless start on Thursday as an Omicron spread blurred the last trading day of the year for many exchanges around the world.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was flat on the day and was down six per cent year on year. China’s blue chips also lost six per cent on a major fall in tech as Beijing tightened restrictions on the sector.
Japan’s Nikkei slid 0.7 per cent on Thursday, leaving it with a modest gain of 4.6 per cent for the year and somehow reaching a three-decade top in September.
S&P 500 futures were down 0.2 per cent in early trade, while Nasdaq futures were down 0.3 per cent.
Wall Street has had a great year, driven by corporate earnings and policy stimulus support. The S&P 500 is up 28 percent and marking its strongest three-year performance since 1999.
In the crude oil market, oil prices rose for several days in a row on Thursday, which bodes well for US fuel demand despite rising Omicron coronavirus infections.
Brent crude futures rose 17 cents, or 0.2 per cent, to $79.40 a barrel, climbing for the fourth day in a row. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose 23 cents, or 0.3 per cent, to $76.79 a barrel, marking the seventh consecutive session of gain.
In forex, the dollar and yen were at the low end of their recent ranges in thin holiday trading, falling overnight as investors favored riskier currencies along with equities. The euro was at $1.1352 after gaining 0.35 per cent in early Asian trade and touched a one-month high a day earlier.
Back home, on the stock-specific front, top airline company IndiGo (listed as InterGlobe Aviation Ltd) will be in focus as it conducts its Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) today. The shareholders are likely to decide on amending the company’s Articles of Association, which has been a major point of friction between the company’s founders Rahul Bhatia and Rakesh Gangwal.
