As per provisional closing data, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, gained 260.98 points or 0.54% to 48,437.98. The Nifty 50 index added 66.60 points or 0.47% to 14,199.10.

The Sensex scaled a record high of 48,486.24 while the Nifty hit an all-time high of 14,215.60 in late trade today.

The broader market outperformed the benchmarks. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rallied 1.35% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index rose 0.7%.

Buyers outpaced sellers. On the BSE, 1784 shares rose and 1283 shares fell. A total of 166 shares were unchanged.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth Rs 1,843.22 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net sellers to the tune of Rs 715.21 crore in the Indian equity market on 4 January 2021, provisional data showed.

COVID-19 Update:

Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 8,56,75,442 with 18,53,344 deaths. India reported 2,31,036 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 1,49,850 deaths while 99,75,958 patients have been discharged, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.

A total of 38 people have tested positive for the new UK variant of SARS-CoV-2 in India so far, the Union Health Ministry said on Monday. These include the 29 cases which were announced till Friday.

The new variant of coronavirus disease - B.1.1.7 - has been dubbed as highly infectious by scientists and medical experts as the UK government has confirmed that the infection rates have increased faster than expected in the affected areas.

Economy:

The Ministry of Finance has released the 10th weekly installment of Rs 6,000 crore to the states to meet the GST compensation shortfall. Now, more than 50% of the estimated GST compensation shortfall has been released to the States and UTs with the Legislative Assembly. The government had set up a special borrowing window in October 2020 to meet the estimated shortfall of Rs 1.10 lakh crore in revenue arising on account of implementation of GST. The borrowings are being done through this window by the Central Government on behalf of the States and UTs. The amount released this week was the 10th installment of such funds provided to the States. The amount has been borrowed this week at an interest rate of 4.1526%. So far, an amount of Rs 60,000 crore has been borrowed by the central government.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) surged 2.71% after the company said its individual loan business continued to see improvements during the quarter ended 31 December 2020. Disbursement growth over the corresponding quarter of the previous year was 26%. For the nine months ended 31 December 2020, individual loan disbursements stood at 86% of the levels in the corresponding period of the previous year. The corporation assigned loans to HDFC Bank amounting to Rs 7,076 crore compared to Rs 4,258 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous year. Individual loans sold in the preceding 12 months amounted to Rs 16,956 crore as against Rs 21,066 crore in the previous year.

Bajaj Finance fell 1.73%. The NBFC disclosed that its assets under management (AUM) stood at approximately Rs 143,700 crore as of 31 December 2020, a tad lower than Rs 145,092 crore as of 31 December 2019. The company's AUM in Q3 FY21 grew by approximately Rs 7,700 crore as compared to Rs 9,559 crore in Q3 FY20. Bajaj Finance's customer franchise as of 31 December 2020 stood at 46.3 million compared with 40.4 million as of 31 December 2019. The company acquired 2.2 million new customers in Q3 FY21 as against 2.5 million in Q3 FY20. New loans booked during Q3 FY21 were 6 million as compared to 7.7 million in Q3 FY20. The company's consolidated liquidity surplus stood at approximately Rs 14,600 crore as of 31 December 2020. The company's liquidity position remains very strong, Bajaj Finance said in a statement. The company continues to remain well capitalized with capital adequacy ratio (CRAR) of approximately 28% as of 31 December 2020.

IndusInd Bank gained 2.65%. The private lender said its deposits increased 11% to Rs 2,39,600 crore in Q3 December 2020 from Rs 2,16,713 crore in Q3 December 2019. Deposits rose 4.96% last month compared with Rs 2,28,279 crore in Q2 September 2020. Retail deposits and deposits from small business customers amounted to Rs 85,914 crore in Q3 FY21, up by 13.63% from Rs 75,610 crore in Q2 FY21. IndusInd Bank's net advances stood at Rs 2,07,691 crore in Q3 FY21, a tad higher compared with Rs 2,07,413 crore in the same period last year. Sequentially, the bank's net advances rose 3.20% in December 2020 from Rs 2,01,247 crore in Q2 FY21. CASA ratio was at 40.5% as on 30 December 2020 as against 42.4% as on 30 December 2019 and 40.4% as on 30 September 2020.

Sun Pharmaceutical Industries fell 0.21%. The drug major announced that it has initiated Phase 2 clinical trial for SCD-044 in patients with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis. The Phase 2 study is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study to assess the efficacy and safety of SCD-044 in the treatment of moderate to severe plaque psoriasis. The study will enroll approximately 240 subjects and topline results are expected in 2022.

National Fertilizers (NFL) jumped 6.72% after the company said that it achieved highest ever production of 9.99 lakh MT urea in the third quarter during FY 2020-21. The company successfully maintained its operations during constraints posed by COVID-19, it added. The plants at Nangal and Panipat achieved their best ever urea production during Oct-Dec 2020 period. The Nangal plant while increasing production levels at plant also achieved ever lowest quarterly energy of 6.602 GCal/MT urea against previous best of 6.615 GCal/MT urea.

IIFL Securities rallied 4.17% after the company said its insurance unit received the regulatory approval to undertake insurance e-commerce activities. IIFL Insurance Brokers, a wholly-owned subsidiary of IIFL Securities, received permission from Insurance Regulatory Development Authority (IRDA) for undertaking insurance e-commerce activities (i.e. online sale and service of insurance policies) in India through Insurance Self Networking Platform (ISNP).

Tata Power added 2.15% after the company partnered with SIDBI to launch affordable and collateral-free financing for rooftop solar for MSMEs consumers. The financing scheme is exclusively for MSME customers of Tata Power for both off-grid and on-grid connections.

KNR Construction gained 1.63% after the infrastructure company received orders worth of Rs 603.63 crore from Project Director, Highways (FAC), Chennai Kanyakumari Industrial Corridor Project, Chennai.

MOIL rose 0.54% after the state-run corporation announced resources base of 7.65 million tonnes of manganese established in Gujarat under MoU with GMDC.

Global Markets:

The Dow Jones Futures 30 were up 85 points, indicating a decent start in US markets today.

Asian shares closed higher while European shares were mixed. The sentiment was fragile as fears surrounding the coronavirus pandemic lingered.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson imposed a national lockdown on England to curb the spread of the new coronavirus variant. As part of the new restrictions, people can only leave their homes for essentials, work if they can't from home and exercise. Most schools will also move to remote learning, including universities.

Meanwhile, Germany is also expected to extend its own lockdown measures later on Tuesday. According to media reports, the current restrictions - which include the closure of schools, retailers and restaurants - are all set to continue until at least the end of January.

US stocks dropped on Monday, the first trading day of 2021, amid concerns about global coronavirus cases and the Georgia runoff elections. Investors are keeping eye on Tuesday's Senate runoffs in Georgia, which could have a big impact on incoming U.S. President Joe Biden's economic policies.

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