Stock Market: Sensex Rises 103 Points; Nifty Around 70k Amid Volatility. PSBs, FMCG Lead; Dr Reddy’s Dips 5%

Stock update: On the 30-share Sensex platform, UltraCemco, Nestle, PowerGrid, Tata Motors, IndusInd Bank, HCLTech were among gainers. Axis Bank, M&M, HUL, Maruti, Bajaj Finserv, Wipro emerged losers

The two key equity benchmarks, Sensex and Nifty, on Monday ended on a positive note amid volatility. The S&P BSE Sensex, which scaled a high of 70,058, eventually closed 103 points higher at 69,929. On the other hand, the NSE Nifty 50, which hit a high of 21,026, ended at 20,997, up 28 points.

On the 30-share Sensex platform, UltraCemco, Nestle, PowerGrid, Tata Motors, IndusInd Bank, HCLTech were among the gainers. On the downside, Axis Bank, M&M, HUL, Maruti, Bajaj Finserv, Wipro emerged losers. UltraTech Cement was the top gainer, jumping 3.5 per cent. Among individual shares, Dr Reddy’s tanked 5 per cent after Antique Stock Broking flagged an ‘imminent’ warning letter from the US drug regulator on DRL's formulations technical operation unit-3 (FTO-3) in Hyderabad.

In the broader markets, the BSE Midcap index rose 0.9 per cent, while the Smallcap added 0.7 per cent.

Sectorally, PSU Bank, FMCG, capital goods, power, metal, realty gained 0.5-1 per cent, while pharma index went down 0.4 per cent.

In the previous session on Friday, the BSE Sensex settled at 69,825.60, climbing over 300 points. The NSE Nifty50 crossed the 21,000 mark to achieve a record high of 21,006.10, and closed marginally lower at 20,972.15.

The US Federal Reserve will announce its next move on interest rates on Wednesday. The US government will report on consumer inflation on Tuesday.

Asian markets were mixed. Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropped 0.8 per cent, and the Shanghai Composite added 0.7 per cent, while Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index gained 1.5 per cent. In Europe, Germany's DAX was unchanged, and the CAC 40 in Paris gained 0.2 per cent. In London, the FTSE 100 was down 0.4 per cent.

Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) have turned bullish, investing Rs 26,505 crore into domestic equities in the first six trading sessions of December.

Meanwhile, the rupee stayed almost flat and settled 1 paisa lower at 83.39 (provisional) against the US dollar on Monday as investors remained on the sidelines ahead of the Fed Meeting. Forex traders said the bullish equity market and sustained inflow of foreign funds failed to boost investor sentiment.

The US Federal Reserve is expected to announce its monetary policy decision later this week. At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local unit opened at 83.39 against the greenback and touched the intra-day peak of 83.37 before settling at 83.39 (provisional), 1 paisa higher from its previous close. On Friday, the rupee fell 4 paise to close at 83.40 against the US dollar.