FIRST TRADE: Sensex jumps over 400 pts, Nifty tops 21,300 as bulls take D-Street to fresh peaks

Stock market today: Domestic equity indices Sensex and Nifty 50 scaled fresh life-time highs on Friday, December 15, backed by buying across sectors amid positive global cues.

Both headline indices gained as much as 0.6 per cent within the first few minutes of trade, with the Nifty rising as much as 135.2 points to touch 21,317.9 and the Sensex climbing up 418.9 points to 70,933.1—both record highs. 

The high-beta Nifty Bank index followed suit to cross the 47,943.6 level to a fresh peak of 47,987.3, up 255 points or 0.5 per cent from its previous close. 

A rally across global markets on elevated bets of a US rate cut by March 2024 amid already positive sentiment following the Fed's status quo on policy along with a dovish tone this week. 

"The dovish commentary by the US Fed boosted the market sentiments which helped bulls to tighten their grip to end the weekly expiry day at a record level," said Aditya Gaggar, Director of Progressive Shares.

Broader indices Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 gained as much as 0.6 per cent and 0.9 per cent, respectively.

BUZZING STOCKS

• Infosys shares rose over one per cent on BSE after the IT firm announced that its board would discuss Q3 results in a meeting on January 11. 
• Panacea Biotec shares gained more than five per cent after the company launched the world’s first fully liquid wP-IPV-based Pentavalent vaccine, EasyFourPol, in India.
• Sterling and Wilson Renewable shares gained more than three per cent after the company received a settlement amount of $30.54 million (approx Rs 254.2 crore) from Jinko Solar Co. 
• PB Fintech shares gained more than three per cent after 2.5 per cent of the company's equity changed hands via block deal ahead of the opening bell. 
• Satin Creditcare Network shares soared more than six per cent after the microfinance company launched a qualified institutional placement (QIP).
• Fusion Microfinance shares rose more than two per cent after Warbug Pincus' Honey Rose Investment sold 64.57 lakh shares in the company via a bulk deal.
• Genus Power shares surged over four per cent after the company's subsidiary bagged an order worth Rs 1,026.31 crore for smart meters. 
• Texmaco Rail Engineering shares rose more than four per cent after the company received an order worth Rs 1,374.4 crore from the railway ministry for the construction of wagons.
• Kfintech shares fell eight per cent amid reports suggesting that the General Atlantic Singapore fund may offload a 10 per stake in the company via a block deal.
• South India Bank shares traded one per cent weaker after an initial investigation revealed the case of fraud by an employee of around Rs 28 crore.
• Mankind Pharma shares declined one per cent ahead of the stock's inclusion in largecap index FTSE All-Cap.

GLOBAL MARKETS 

Asian shares hit a three-month peak on Friday as sharp declines in the dollar and US yields extended the Fed-fuelled rally, but pushback on rate cuts from central banks in Europe may deal a blow to the global pivot hopes. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 1.3 per cent at the last count, while Japan's Nikkei 225 was up one per cent.

With inputs from agencies

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