Domestic Share Market closed in positive zone; Sensex climbs 347 points & Nifty ends above 13350 mark

Domestic equity indices extended their winning run to a third consecutive trading session on Monday, December 12, 2020, to hit the fresh lifetime highs. Amid the mixed global cues, the BSE Sensex closed above 45,400 level while the NSE Nifty ended above 13,350 mark.

The S&P BSE Sensex jumped 347.72 points or 0.77 per cent to 45,426.55. The Nifty 50 index gained 97.20 points or 0.73 per cent to close at 13,355.05. Nifty Bank rose 159.15 points or 0.53 per cent to settle higher at 30,211.55.

The broader market at BSE outperformed the Sensex as the BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.95 per cent while the BSE Small-Cap index zoomed 1.3 per cent.

Buyers outpaced sellers. On the BSE, 2,028 shares rose and 936 shares fell. On the Nifty 50 index, 31 shares advanced and 19 declined. The top five gainers on Nifty 50 block were UPL (up 4.56 per cent), Adani Ports (up 3.59 per cent), Hindustan Unilever (up 3.24 per cent), Bharti Airtel (up 3.19 per cent) and ONGC (up 3.06 per cent). The top losers were SBI Life (down 1.51 per cent), Nestle India (down 1.44 per cent), Kotak Mahindra Bank (down 1.36 per cent), JSW Steel (down 1.32 per cent) and Tata Steel (down 1.16 per cent).

COVID-19 Update

Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide were at 6,70,73,749 with 15,36,072 deaths. India reported 3,96,729 active cases of Covid-19 infection and 1,40,573 deaths while 91,39,901 patients have been discharged.

Kharif Crop Procurement

In the ongoing Kharif Marketing Season, the government continues to procure Kharif crops at its minimum support price (MSP) from farmers as per its existing MSP schemes. About 32.92 lakh paddy farmers have benefitted from Kharif Marketing Season Procurement Operations with MSP value of over Rs 63,563 crore. Agriculture Ministry said over 336 lakh metric tonnes of paddy have been procured against the last year corresponding purchase of around 280 lakh metric tonnes. This shows an increase of 20.27 per cent over last year. Out of total purchase of over 336 lakh metric tonnes, Punjab alone has purchased 202.77 lakh metric tonnes till the close of procurement season in the state on November 30, 2020.

Post-Brexit Deal

The UK and EU are making last efforts to reach a post-Brexit trade deal this week, with Britain's chief negotiator going to Brussels on Sunday in a bid to salvage talks that had to be paused on Friday, due to outstanding issues that remain to be resolved, including fishing rights and competition rules.