On Friday, the final trading day of the calendar year 2021, Indian stock indexes concluded on a strong note, powered by advances in metal and consumer durables sectors, despite global market caution due to fears over the Omicron variant of coronavirus.

The broader indices ended in green with the BSE Midcap index rising 1.38%, while the Small cap index was up by 1.16%. The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 2.10%, Consumer Durables up by 1.99%, Basic Materials up by 1.92%, Auto up by 1.73% and Telecom up by 1.72%, while there were no losing sectoral indices on the BSE.

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The Nifty50 has formed a log bull candle on the daily chart in a positive sign, and one may expect more upside in the short term, according to Nagaraj Shetti, Technical Research Analyst at HDFC Securities. Long-term charts indicate a bounce from lower supports, and the quarterly chart has closed with a Doji or high wave-type formation, “which means a confusion state of mind at the highs,” he said.

According to pivot charts, the key support levels for the Nifty are placed at 17,261.46, followed by 17,168.83. If the index moves up, the key resistance levels to watch out for are 17,423.77 and 17,493.43.

Indian Indices

Sensex rose 459.50 points or 0.80% to 58,253.82 and the Nifty was up by 150.10 points or 0.87% to 17,354.05 in the previous session. Sensex touched high and low of 58,409.30 and 57,846.52, respectively and there were 26 stocks advancing against 4 stocks declining on the index while Nifty traded in a range of 17,400.80 and 17,238.50 and there were 45 stocks advancing against 5 stocks declining on the index.

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SGX Nifty

The trends on SGX Nifty indicate a negative opening for the index in India with a 10-points loss. The Nifty futures were trading at 17,427.50 on the Singaporean Exchange around 06:45 hours IST.

Asian Markets

Asian markets finished mixed. The Hang Seng gained 1.24% and the Shanghai Composite rose 0.57%. The Nikkei 225 lost 0.40%.

US Markets

The S&P 500 fell 12.55 points, or 0.3%, to 4,766.18. The Dow slid 59.78 points, or 0.2%, to 36,338.30. The Nasdaq fell 96.59 points, or 0.6%, to 15,644.97. The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies slipped 3.48 points, or 0.2%, to 2,245.31. The index ended the year with a gain of 13.7%

European Markets

European markets finished mixed. The DAX gained 0.21%, while the CAC 40 led the FTSE 100 lower. They fell 0.28% and 0.25% respectively.

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NTPC in talks to acquire a 5% stake in Power Exchange of India, NPGC declares Rs 100 crore interim dividend

State-run power giant NTPC is mulling acquiring a 5% equity stake in Power Exchange of India Ltd (PXIL) that provides various electricity trading options, a senior official said. The PXIL is India’s first institutionally promoted power exchange, which has been providing various electricity trading solutions and connecting buyers as well sellers since 2008. A senior official told PTI that NTPC has plans “to buy up to five per cent equity stake in PXIL. This decision has been taken in view of the government’s intention to increase the share market to 25% of total electricity supply in India by 2023-24”. Asked whether an acquisition of more equity than 5% in PXIL is on the cards, the official explained that the NTPC cannot buy more than a 5% equity stake in the PXIL as it could also be a seller or buyer on the trading platform.

NTPC arm Nabinagar Power Generating Co (NPGC) has declared an interim dividend of Rs 100 crore for 2021-22, according to a statement. “Nabinagar Power Generating Co (NPGC), a wholly-owned subsidiary of NTPC Ltd, declared an interim dividend of Rs 100 crore for the FY 2021-22,” the company said in the statement. Ramesh Babu V, director (operations) of NTPC and chairman of NPGC, had presented the cheque for the interim dividend to NTPC Chairman and Managing Director Gurdeep Singh on December 31, 2021.

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HDFC Life has completed its acquisition of Exide Life

HDFC Life Insurance has completed the acquisition of Exide Life by allotting over 8.7 crore shares of the company to Exide Industries, the insurer said on January 1. The Capital Raising Committee of the board has vided its resolution dated January 1, 2022, allotted 8,70,22,222 equity shares of the company to Exide on a preferential basis, and the company has completed the acquisition of 100% shareholding of Exide Life from Exide, HDFC Life Insurance said in a regulatory filing. Accordingly, Exide Life became a wholly-owned subsidiary of the company with immediate effect — from January 1, 2022, it said. The shares were issued at an issue price of Rs 685 per scrip and a cash payout of Rs 726 crore, aggregating to Rs 6,687 crore. Exide Industries now holds a 4.1% stake in HDFC Life.

Tata Motors reported a 50% increase in December PV sales to 35,299 units

Tata Motors on Saturday reported a 50% jump in total passenger vehicle sales to 35,299 units in December 2021. The company had sold a total of 23,545 units in the same month a year ago, Tata Motors said in a regulatory filing. In the third quarter ended December 2021, the company said its total passenger vehicle sales stood at 99,002 units as compared with 68,806 units sold the same period in the previous year, up 44%.

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Honda Cars report a 26% increase in wholesales for 2021

Honda Cars India Ltd (HCIL) on Saturday reported a 26% year-on-year increase in its domestic wholesales at 89,152 units in 2021. The company had dispatched 70,593 units to dealers in the domestic market in the January-December period in 2020, HCIL said in a statement. The automaker said its exports rose to 16,340 units during the period under review from 2,334 units in 2020. In December 2021, the automaker reported an 8% dip in its domestic sales at 7,973 units. It had dispatched 8,638 units in the domestic market in December 2020. The company also exported 1,165 units last month. It had shipped 713 units in December 2020.

Maruti Suzuki sales fell 4% to 1,53,149 units in December

Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) on Saturday reported a 4% fall in the total wholesales to 1,53,149 units in December 2021. The company had sold 1,60,226 units in December 2020, MSI said in a statement. In December 2021, the domestic sales slipped 13% to 1,30,869 units last month as against 1,50,288 units in December 2020, it added. “The shortage of electronic components had a minor impact on the production of vehicles during the month. The shortage primarily affected the production of vehicles sold in the domestic market,” MSI stated. “

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Escorts reports a 39% drop in tractor sales in 2021

Escorts Agri Machinery, the tractor manufacturing wing of Escorts Limited, reported a 39% dip in sales during 2021. The company said it sold 4,695 tractors compared to 7,733 it had sold in December 2020. The on-year decline was pegged at 39.3%. Domestic tractor sales were also low, with the company managing to sell only 4,080 units, compared to 7,230 units a year back, which is a fall off of 43.57%. “Rural cash flows started to improve, but industry wholesales were impacted during the month of December 2021 due to a high base last year,” the company wrote in a press statement. Escorts Construction Equipment (ECE) segment also saw a drop in sales, managing only 377 units in December 2021, compared to 438 machines in the previous year.

Bulk Deal data

Foreign investor Saint Capital Fund acquired 1 lakh equity shares in Rama Steel Tubes at Rs 327.71 per share on the BSE, the bulk deals data showed.

Mathew Cyriac sold 7,50,000 equity shares in CMS Info Systems Limited at Rs 250.21 per share on the NSE, according to the bulk deals data today. 

Karuna Mittal sold 1,50,000 equity shares and LNJ Financial Services Ltd bought 2,29,954 equity shares in Intrasoft Tech. Ltd at Rs 219.57 and Rs 219.33 per share on the NSE, the bulk deals said. 

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Gaurav Doshi and Mansi Shares & Stock Advisors bought 75,000 and 1,00,000 equity shares at Rs 12.27 and Rs 12.3 per share respectively in Sanco Industries Ltd on the NSE, the bulk deals showed. 

Jain Sanjay Popatlal and Mansi Shares & Stock Advisors each bought 17,600 and 32,000 equity shares in Vivo Collab Solutions Ltd at Rs 355.1 and Rs 347.29 per share on the NSE, the bulk deals data showed. 

Avirat Enterprise sold 60,000 equity shares in Tokyo Plast Intl Ltd at Rs 116.42 per share; while Globe Fincap Ltd sold 1,24,712 equity shares in Intense Technologies Ltd at Rs 89.62 per share on the NSE, the bulk deals data showed. 

Indusind Bank Ltd Client A/C for the second straight session on Friday sold 18,00,000 equity shares in Zee Learn at Rs 15.86 per share on the NSE, the bulk deals showed.

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DII and FII data

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) purchased shares worth a net Rs 575.39 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 1165.62 crore in the Indian equity market on December 31, 2021, as per provisional data available on the NSE.

NSE F&O Ban

No security has been put under the F&O ban for January 3. Securities in the ban period under the F&O segment include companies in which the security has crossed 95% of the market-wide position limit.