Domestic equity benchmarks surged on Thursday, tracking strength in US Dow futures. The Nifty settled above the 17,400 mark. The indices opened almost flat but moved higher as the session progressed and finished near the day's high amid strong buying support. All the sectoral indices on the NSE ended in the green with IT, metal and financial stocks rising the most.

The S&P BSE Sensex, surged 776.5 points or 1.35% at 58,461.49. The Nifty 50 index jumped 234.75 points or 1.37% at 17,401.65.

HDFC (up 3.92%), Infosys (up 1.91%), TCS (up 1.76%), HDFC Bank (up 1.40%) and Reliance Industries (up 0.69%) boosted the indices.

The broader market lagged the benchmarks. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 1.01% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 1.12%.

Buyers outnumbered sellers. On the BSE, 2,185 shares rose and 1,065 shares fell. A total of 150 shares were unchanged.

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of market's expectation of volatility over the near term, slumped 6.99% at 18.08.

The Dow Jones index futures were up 318 points, indicating a positive start in US stock market today.

Economy:

India's merchandise exports in November 2021 was $29.88 billion, an increase of 26.49% over $23.62 billion in November 2020 and an increase of 15.93% over $25.77 billion in November 2019. Merchandise exports in April-November 2021 was $262.46 billion, an increase of 50.71% over $174.15 billion in April-November 2020 and an increase of 24.29% over $211.17 billion in April-November 2019.

Meanwhile, merchandise imports in November 2021 stood at $53.15 billion, an increase of 57.18% over $33.81 billion in November 2020 and an increase of 37.96% over $38.52 billion in November 2019. Merchandise imports in April-November 2021 was $384.44 billion, an increase of 75.39% over $219.19 billion in April-November 2020 and an increase of 18.44% over $324.59 billion in April-November 2019.

The trade deficit in November 2021 was $23.27 billion, while it was $121.98 billion during April-November 2021.

Numbers to Track:

The yield on 10-year benchmark federal paper ended flat at 6.353%.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 74.98, compared with its close of 74.91 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 3 December 2021 settlement rose 0.43% to Rs 47,783.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was down 0.05% to 95.98.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for February 2022 settlement rose $1.39 or 2.02% to $70.26 a barrel.

Global Markets:

European shares declined while Asian stocks ended mixed on Thursday as concerns over the economic impact of the omicron COVID-19 variant continue to weigh on investor sentiment. The number of COVID-19 cases in South Africa almost doubled, while the UK, Switzerland and Brazil reported cases of the omicron variant.

US stocks declined overnight after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed the first case of omicron in the US.

Meanwhile, US Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said that he expects policymakers to discuss the possibility of a faster taper schedule at the meeting this month.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Maruti Suzuki India rose 0.69%. The car major on Thursday informed that it has planned to hike prices for different models from January 2022 due to higher input costs.

New Delhi Television (NDTV) hit an upper circuit limit of 5% at Rs 79.80 after NDTV Convergence signed a 10-year deal with Nasdaq-listed Taboola, which can generate revenue of Rs 750 crore ($100 million). Taboola is a global leader in powering recommendations for the open web, helping people discover content they may like.

Coal India rose 2.21% after the state-run coal major's offtake stood at 56.8 million tonnes (MT) in November 2021, growing 10.8% as compared with 51.3 MT recorded in the same month last year. The company's coal production rose 4.1% to 53.8 million tonnes (MT) in November 2021 from 51.7 MT in November 2020.

NMDC gained 2.69%. The PSU miner's provisional iron ore production rose 0.60% to 3.34 million tonnes (MT) in November 2021 as against 3.32 MT in November 2020. Provisional iron ore sales aggregated to 2.88 million tonnes (MT) in November 2021 as against 3.30 MT in November 2020, registering a fall of 12.72% Y-o-Y (year-on-year).

Eicher Motors rose 0.63%. The company said that its total motorcycles sales declined 19% to 51,654 units in November 2021 as against 63,782 units sold in the same period last year. While sales of motorcycle models with engine capacity upto 350cc fell by 25% to 43,346 units, sales of motorcycle models with engine capacity exceeding 350cc rose by 31% to 8,308 units in November 2021 over November 2020. The company exported 6,824 motorcycle units (up 45% YoY) during the period under review.

Atul Auto fell 0.12%. The company sold 1,344 auto units in November 2021, which is lower by 16.05% as compared with 1,601 auto units sold in November 2020. The company's auto sales have de-grown by 37.23% as compared with 2,141 units sold in October 2021.

Larsen & Toubro rose 0.35%. L&T announced a partnership agreement with ReNew Power to tap the emerging green hydrogen business in India. Under this agreement, L&T and ReNew will jointly develop, own, execute and operate green hydrogen projects in India.

Skipper surged 16.95% after the company secured orders worth Rs 300 crore for transmission and telecom towers from Power Grid Corporation of India (PGCIL) and from various export markets.

Primary Market:

The initial public offer (IPO) of Anand Rathi Wealth received bids for over 1.29 crore shares as against 84.75 lakh shares on offer, according to stock exchange data at 16:39 IST on Thursday (2 December 2021). The issue was subscribed 1.53 times.

The issue opened for bidding on 2 December 2021 and it will close on 6 December 2021. The price band of the IPO is fixed at Rs 530-550. The offer comprises an offer for sale by selling shareholders of up to 1.2 crore equity shares. The company will not receive any proceeds from the offer and all the offer proceeds will be received by the selling shareholders.

Anand Rathi Wealth offers a wide product portfolio of wealth solutions, financial product distribution, and technology solutions to its clients primarily through its flagship Private Wealth (PW) vertical where it managed Rs 29,472 crore in AUM as on August 31, 2021.

The IPO of Tega Industries received bids for over 12.86 crore shares as against 95.68 lakh shares on offer, according to stock exchange data at 16:39 IST on Thursday (2 December 2021). The issue was subscribed 13.45 times.

The issue opened for bidding on 1 December 2021 and it will close on 3 December 2021. The price band of the IPO is fixed at Rs 443-453. The offer comprises an offer for sale by selling shareholders of up to 13,66,978 equity shares. The company will not receive any proceeds from the offer and all the offer proceeds will be received by the selling shareholders. Tega Industries is a manufacturer and distributor of specialized, critical, and recurring consumable products for the global mineral beneficiation, mining, and bulk solids handling industry.

The IPO of Star Health and Allied Insurance Company received bids for over 3.54 crore shares as against 4.49 crore shares on offer, according to stock exchange data at 16:39 IST on Thursday (2 December 2021). The issue was subscribed 79%.

The issue opened for bidding on 30 November 2021 and it will close today, 2 December 2021. The price band of the IPO is fixed at Rs 870-900. The IPO consists of a fresh issue to raise Rs 2,000 crore and an offer of sale (OFS) comprises issuing 5.83 crore equity share. Star Health and Allied Insurance Company is the largest private health insurer with 15.8% market share in the overall healthy industry. The company has strong retail health insurance market share at 31.3% in FY2021.