Lagatar24 Desk
Mumbai, Dec.29: Indian equity indexes fell on Wednesday, December 29, as a result of negative global cues and year-end portfolio changes. The Sensex was up 0.08 percent, or 48.54 points, to 57,946.20 at 9:30 a.m., while the Nifty was up 147 points to 17,233.05. Pharma stocks led advances yesterday after the government approved the use of two new vaccinations, Corbevax and Covovax, as well as one antiviral medicine, Molnupiravir, to help combat the COVID-19 pandemic.
The top drags were HDFC Bank, Infosys, Power Grid Corporation of India, Coal India, and NTPC. IndusInd Bank, Cipla, Sun Pharma, and Dr Reddy’s Labs, on the other hand, were among the top gainers.
The Nifty Midcap 100 index was up 0.40 percent, while the Nifty Smallcap 100 index was up 0.82 percent, indicating that mid- and small-cap stocks were doing well.
Following a volatile Wall Street day, Asian markets fell on Wednesday as investors positioned their portfolios for the new year and grappled with rising global numbers of Omicron coronavirus cases.
Following tumultuous US activity, MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific equities outside Japan fell 0.25 percent after six sessions of gains.
Hong Kong fell 0.6 percent, weighed down by falls in mainland tech equities, while Chinese blue chips down 0.25 percent.
After hitting a one-month high on Tuesday, the Nikkei fell 0.58 percent Wednesday. Despite the fact that the country’s most populated state, New South Wales, revealed 11,201 new COVID-19 cases, the ASX 200 was up 1% early in the session in Australia.
On Wednesday, US crude increased for the sixth straight day, while Brent gained further ground, as a broad-based surge in global markets supported prices.
Brent crude gained 23 cents, or 0.3 percent, to $79.17 a barrel. WTI crude in the United States rose 21 cents, or 0.3 percent, to $76.19 a barrel. Strength in equities has helped both contracts trade around their highest levels in a month.
