Indian equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty50 closed on a high note on Friday, the last trading session of 2021, led by auto, bank, metal and oil & gas stocks.
Sensex has rallied 22 per cent and Nifty has gained 24 per cent in the calendar year 2021. On the last trading session of 2021, the Sensex was up 459.50 points at 58,253.82, and the Nifty was up 150 points at 17,354.
Indian equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty50 closed on a high note on Friday, the last trading session of 2021, led by auto, bank, metal and oil & gas stocks.
At close, the Sensex was up 459.50 points or 0.80 per cent at 58,253.82, and the Nifty was up 150 points or 0.87 per cent at 17,354. About 2335 shares have advanced, 947 shares declined, and 90 shares are unchanged, a report published in Times Now News said.
Top gainers:
Hindalco Industries, Titan Company, UltraTech Cement, Tata Motors and Kotak Mahindra Bank were among the top Nifty gainers.
Top losers:
The list included NTPC, Cipla, Tech Mahindra, Power Grid Corp and Infosys.
Interestingly, Sensex has rallied 22 per cent and Nifty has gained 24 per cent in the calendar year 2021.
Dhiraj Relli, MD & CEO, HDFC Securities, told PTI, “What a year 2021 has been. The globe recovered from the Covid pandemic but faced another round of virus spread in March. However resilient Nifty kept rising through the year till October and then saw some decent correction.”
He said that globally and in India the marketcap on GDP ratio touched an all-time high due to large liquidity flows, low-interest rates, the expectation of early return to normalcy and low returns from other asset classes.
Transition to 2022 will see a more normal monetary policy, and investors could do well to expect more moderate returns from financial markets. Central banks will start to raise rates but remain more tolerant of inflation. Central banks and their assessment of economic conditions will likely be front and centre once again in shaping investment strategies in 2022, he added.
“Post a super show in 2021, valuation levels in Indian equities could make most people cautious on India within EMs and Asia. Indian equities are running into many challenges, including the US rate cycle, rising oil prices, elections in key states, potential Covid wave 3, an upward inflexion in domestic interest rates, rich headline valuations and strong relative trailing performance," Relli said.
Global indications
Hong Kong stocks led gains among major Asia-Pacific markets on Friday, with Chinese tech stocks in the city soaring.
Markets in Australia, Hong Kong and Singapore closed early for the final trading day of the year. Elsewhere in Asia, markets in Japan and South Korea were closed on Friday. The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong jumped 1.24 per cent to 23,397.67, paring some losses but still tumbling about 14 per cent for the year, reported Moneycontrol.
Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude slipped 0.43 per cent to $79.19 per barrel.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital market, as they sold shares worth Rs 986.32 crore on Thursday, according to stock exchange data.