Domestic Markets closed 1% higher; Sensex at BSE shoots up 529 points & Nifty ends at 13,749

Key domestic indices ended with strong gains of more than 1 per cent on Thursday, December 24, 2020, extending their winning run to third consecutive session. Gains were led by gains in banking and pharma stocks amid positive global cues.

The Sensex at the Bombay Stock Exchange shot up 529.36 points, or 1.14 per cent, to close at 46,973.54. The Nifty at the National Stock Exchange jumped 148.15 points, or 1.09 per cent, to 13,749.25. The Nifty Bank gained 518.90 points, or 1.74 per cent, and settled higher at 30,402.20.

The broader market at BSE ends almost flat as the BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.06 per cent while the BSE Small-Cap index gained 0.59 per cent.

Buyers outpaced sellers. On the BSE, 1,615 shares rose and 1,197 shares fell. In the Nifty 50 index, 32 shares advanced and 18 shares declined. The top five gainers on Nifty 50 were Tata Motors (up 3.90 per cent), Sun Pharma (up 3.18 per cent), Axis Bank (up 2.84 per cent), Reliance (up 2.53 per cent) and IOC (up 2.38 per cent). The top losers were Infosys (down 1.25 per cent), Wipro (down 0.97 per cent), Nestle India (down 0.82 per cent), HCL Technologies (down 0.61 per cent) and UPL (down 0.59 per cent).

The domestic stock market will remain shut tomorrow, December 25, 2020, on account of Christmas.

COVID-19 update

Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide were at 7,87,12,623 with 17,30,766 deaths. India reported 2,83,849 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 1,46,756 deaths while 96,93,173 patients have been discharged.

Government's decision on Direct to Home (DTH) broadcasting

The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the proposal for revision of the guidelines for obtaining a license for providing DTH broadcasting service in India. License for the DTH will be issued for a period of 20 years in place of the present 10 years. Further the period of the license may be renewed by 10 years at a time. License fee has been revised from 10 per cent of GR to 8 per cent of AGR.

Scheduled talks between UK Prime Minister and European Commission's President

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson is due to speak with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. Mr Johnson is then expected to hold a news conference. The number of Americans filing first-time claims for unemployment benefits unexpectedly fell last week. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits totalled a seasonally adjusted 803,000 for the week ended December 19, compared to 892,000 in the prior week, the US Labour Department said on Wednesday.