India’s key equity indices — S&P BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty50 — extended their gains on Thursday.
Besides, healthy GST collections along with strong manufacturing growth data kept the positive sentiment intact.
However, fears of a potential rise in the number of Omicron infections in several countries, including India, capped the upside in indices.
Initially, the market opened on a positive note and remained in the green throughout the session.
In terms of global markets, Asian stocks were mixed as they struggled to find direction in the absence of solid information about the Omicron variant of Covid-19.
Besides, European stocks ticked lower after a slide on Wall Street late in the previous session, as the new Omicron variant continued to drive market volatility.
On the domestic front, power, oil & gas and IT indices rose the most.
Consequently, the barometer 30-scrip Sensex closed at 58,461 points, up by 776 points or 1.35 per cent from its previous close.
Similarly, the broader 50-scrip Nifty closed the day’s trade in the positive territory, ending at 17,401 points, up by 234 points or 1.37 per cent from its previous close.
In terms of stocks, the shares of Adani Ports, Power Grid, HDFC, Sun Pharma and Grasim Industries were the top gainers during the session, NSE data showed.
As per NSE, stocks of these companies closed 4.53 cent, 3.76 per cent, 3.75 per cent, 3.33 per cent and 3.19 per cent up from their previous close, respectively.
On the contrary, stocks such as Cipla, ICICI Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank were some of the top losers during the session, data showed.
“Nifty nicely build on the gains made on December 2 and crossed the crucial 17,355-level,” said Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research, HDFC Securities.
“Now the next resistance for Nifty is at 17,536, while support could come in at 17,213,” he added.
According to Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services: “Irrespective of the weak sentiments in the international markets, domestic indices continued to rise due to gains in IT, financials and metal stocks amid strong domestic macroeconomic data.
“The Fed Chair’s remarks stating a possibility of a faster end to the bond-buying programme and interest rate hike along with the first confirmed case of the Omicron variant in the US triggered a fresh global sell-off.”
