Domestic Share Market closed with modest gains; Sensex climbed 182 points & Nifty ends at 13,393

Domestic indices ended with modest gains after hitting record-high levels on Tuesday, December 8, 2020. Sensex closed above 45,600 mark and Nifty 50 closed above 13,390 level.

The S&P BSE Sensex gained 181.54 points or 0.4 per cent to settle at 45,608.51. The Nifty 50 index gained 37.20 points or 0.28 per cent to 13,392.95. Similarly, Nifty Bank rose 50.35 points or 0.17 per cent and closed at 30,261.90.

The broader market at BSE, the BSE Mid-Cap index lost 0.16 per cent, while the BSE Small-Cap index fell 0.29 per cent.

The market breadth was almost even. On the BSE, 1496 shares rose and 1459 shares fell. On the Nifty 50 index, 19 shares advanced, while 30 declined and one remain unchanged. The top five gainers on Nifty 50 block were UltraTech Cement (up 3.06 per cent), TCS (up 2.09 per cent), Reliance (up 1.75 per cent), Wipro (up 1.41 per cent) and HCL Tech (up 0.92 per cent). The top five losers were Hindalco (down 2.29 per cent), Sun Pharma (down 2.23 per cent), Coal India (down 1.83 per cent), IndusInd Bank (down 1.78 per cent) and NTPC (down 1.70 per cent).

COVID-19 update

Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide were at 6,75,92,458 with 15,44,543 deaths. India reported 3,83,866 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 1,40,958 deaths while 91,78,946 patients have been discharged.

India's GDP Forecast

Fitch Ratings on Tuesday raised India's GDP forecast to -9.4 per cent in the current fiscal year to March 2021 from a previously projected contraction of 10.5 per cent after the economy staged a sharper rebound in the second quarter. The projections compare to a GDP growth of 4.2 per cent in FY20 and 6.7 per cent annual expansion between 2015 and 2019.

Post-Brexit trade deal

The UK and the European Union are making last efforts to reach a post-Brexit trade deal this week. Both sides remain divided over three issues: fisheries, competition rules and governance of their potential deal. They have been stuck on these three areas since early summer. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is set to head to Brussels this week in a last-ditch attempt to secure a Brexit deal.

Fresh economic stimulus package in Japan

Japan will compile a fresh economic stimulus package worth 73.6 trillion yen ($708 billion), Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said on Tuesday.