The domestic equity benchmarks ended near the day's high after a strong session on Wednesday. All the sectoral indices on the NSE ended in the green. Auto, IT and PSU banks shares rallied.

The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, surged 1,016.03 points or 1.76% to 58,649.68. The Nifty 50 index jumped 293.05 points or 1.71% to 17,469.75. Both the indices have risen 3.3% in two consecutive sessions.

Shares rallied across Asia as investors grew hopeful that the Omicron coronavirus variant would be less disruptive for the global economy than initially feared. Domestic investors also cheered the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC)'s decision to keep the key interest rates unchanged.

Bajaj Finance (up 3.67%), ICICI Bank (up 2.55%), Infosys (up 2.37%), HDFC Bank (up 1.84%) and Reliance Industries (up 1.50%) were major index movers.

The broader indices lagged the benchmarks. The BSE Mid-Cap index rose 1.39% and the BSE Small-Cap index gained 1.50%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2329 shares rose and 948 shares fell. A total of 134 shares were unchanged.

The NSE's VIX index, a gauge of market's expectation of volatility over the near term, slumped 6.47% to 17.27.

COVID-19 Update:

According to the Union Health Ministry data, India's active cases declined to 93,733, the lowest in 555 days. The death toll due to the disease has climbed to 4,73,952, with 195 daily fatalities being recorded, according to the data.

The Omicron variant appears to be no worse than other coronavirus strains, top scientists from the WHO and the United States told the media, while cautioning that more research is needed to judge its severity.

Economy:

The RBI kept the policy repo rate unchanged while maintaining its accommodative stance after the conclusion of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting today, 8 December 2021.

RBI kept repo rate unchanged at 4%. Reverse repo rate stands at 3.35%. The Marginal Standing Facility (MSF) rate is at 4.25%. The MPC said the policy stance will remain "accommodative" until there is sustainable recovery in the economy. The RBI maintained the FY22 GDP growth forecast at 9.5%. It retained CPI inflation projection at 5.3% in 2021-22.

Numbers to Watch:

The yield on 10-year benchmark federal paper fell to 6.347% as compared with 6.391% at close in the previous trading session.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 75.4650, compared with its close of 75.44 during the previous trading session.

MCX Gold futures for 4 February 2022 settlement rose 0.35% to Rs 48,229.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, fell 0.12% to 96.25.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for February 2022 settlement rose 40 cents at $75.84 a barrel. The contract rose $2.36, or 3.23% to settle at $75.44 a barrel in the previous trading session.

Foreign Markets:

Most shares in Europe declined while Asian indices rose across the board on Wednesday, continuing a global relief rally as markets found positive news in early reports about the potential impact of the Omicron variant.

Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla on Tuesday reportedly said the omicron variant appears to be milder than previous strains, but also seems to spread faster and could lead to more mutations in the future.

Meanwhile, British drugmaker GSK reportedly said on Tuesday its antibody-based COVID-19 therapy with U.S. partner Vir Biotechnology is effective against all mutations of the new Omicron coronavirus variant.

In Asia, Japan's economy in the July-September period contracted deeper than initially estimated last quarter amid a summer surge in COVID-19 cases that triggered emergency restrictions. Japan's economy in the July-September period shrank an annualized real 3.6% from the previous quarter, downgraded from the 3% contraction initially reported, government data showed Wednesday.

In the US, trade deficit narrowed sharply in October as exports soared to a record high, potentially setting up trade to contribute to economic growth this quarter for the first time in more than a year. The commerce department said on Tuesday that the trade gap plunged 17.6% to $67.1 billion.

Moreover, the House passed a bill that would allow the Senate to raise the debt ceiling with a simple majority vote. The U.S. is expected to hit its debt ceiling around December 15, which raises the threat of a default. Once the legislation gets through the Senate and to President Joe Biden's desk, Congress can hold separate votes to increase the U.S. borrowing limit.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Reliance Industries (RIL) rose 1.50%. RIL and Abu Dhabi Chemicals Derivatives Company RSC (TA'ZIZ) have agreed to launch ‘TA'ZIZ EDC & PVC', a world-scale chemical production partnership at the TA'ZIZ Industrial Chemicals Zone in Ruwais. The new joint-venture will construct and operate a Chlor-Alkali, Ethylene Dichloride (EDC) and Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) production facility, with an investment of more than $2 billion.

ABB India added 1.82%. The company announced partnership with Indore Smart City Development (ISCDL) for deploying digital technology that enables the continuous supply of electricity to homes and businesses.

Hindustan Zinc rose 2.93%. The company said that its board has approved an interim dividend of Rs 18 per equity share for FY22.

Jindal Steel and Power (JSPL) added 3.67%. JSPL said steel production increased by 10 % Y-o-Y in November to 6.74 lakh tonnes as compared to 6.14 lakh tonnes of steel production in the previous year.

Zen Technologies jumped 2.89%. Unistring Tech Solutions (UTS), a subsidiary of the company, secured an order worth Rs 61 crore from an Indian defence PSU.

NHPC added 0.30%. The company's board has approved the proposal for monetization by securitization through bidding process of return on equity (RoE) of Chamera-1 Power Station (3 X 180 MW), Himachal Pradesh.

JSW Steel gained 1.85%. The company's crude steel production for month of November 2021 stood at 14.60 lakh tonnes compared to 13.32 lakh tonnes in November 2020, recording a growth of 10%. On sequential basis, the company's crude steel production rose a mere 2%.

Polyplex Corporation jumped 9.47%. The company commenced operations of 10.6 m Biaxially oriented polypropylene (BOPP) film line in Indonesia with a capacity of 60 KTPA (kilo tonnes per annum).

IPO Updates:

The initial public offer (IPO) of Rategain Travel Technologies received bids for over 1.24 crore shares as against 1.73 crore shares on offer, according to stock exchange data at 16:33 IST on Wednesday (8 December 2021). The issue was subscribed 72%.

The issue opened for bidding on Tuesday, 7 December 2021 and it will close on 9 December 2021. The price band of the IPO is fixed at Rs 405-425. An investor can bid for a minimum of 35 equity shares and in multiples thereof.

The offer comprises of a fresh issue up to Rs 375 crore and an offer for sale of up to 2,26,05,530 equity shares.

The IPO of Shriram Properties received bids for over 2.52 crore shares as against 2.93 crore shares on offer, according to stock exchange data at 16:33 IST on Wednesday (8 December 2021). The issue was subscribed 86%.

The issue opened for bidding today, 8 December 2021 and it will close on 10 December 2021. The price band of the IPO is fixed at Rs 113-118. An investor can bid for a minimum of 125 equity shares and in multiples thereof.

The IPO comprises of upto 2,93,51,639 equity shares (including anchor portion of 2,27,66,949 equity shares).