Market wrap: Markets pause to breathe as investors await data on Omicron

Top headlines:

• RIL and Kotak Bank power 153-point Sensex rally; Nifty holds 17,050

• Brokerages bullish on RIL stock after Jio hikes tariff by 21%

• CoinDCX plans IPO 'as soon as' the govt allows

• RBI wants digital currency included under the definition of 'bank note', says Fin Min

Global markets, including India, calmed on Monday as investors awaited data on whether the Omicron variant of coronavirus would really derail economic recoveries and limit movement of goods and people.

In the commodity markets, oil prices bounced by $3 a barrel, or 5 per cent, to recoup some of Friday's shellacking. The safe haven yen also took a breather after its run higher.

In early deals, the UK's FTSE 100 and Germany's DAX rose 0.7 per cent each, while France's CAC 40 was up 1 per cent. The rally came after European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said the euro zone was better equipped to face the economic impact of a new wave of Covid-19 infections or the Omicron variant.

However, in Asia, Japan's Nikkei and South Korea's Kospi dipped 1.6 per cent and 0.9 per cent, respectively. Australia's ASX200, also, ended 0.5 per cent lower.

Against this backdrop, the benchmark indices in India ended around 0.2 per cent higher, lifted by gains in RIL, besides IT and select consumer durables stocks.

The BSE Sensex closed 153 points higher at 57,260, and the Nifty50 gained 27 points to 17,054.

The Reliance Industries stock, which ended about 1 per cent higher, accounted for over 50 per cent of the index's gains today. The shares surged 4 per cent in intra-day trade after Reliance Jio announced an across-the-board tariff hike. Analysts are bullish on the stock and expect ARPUs to rise above the Rs 170 mark.

Kotak Bank, HCL Tech, TCS, Titan, and Bajaj Finance were the other top gainers on the Sensex. On the downside, Sun Pharma, NTPC, Axis Bank, HDFC, and Power Grid were the top losers.

The broader markets, however, continued to witness profit booking. The BSE MidCap index fell 1 per cent and the BSE SmallCap index dropped 2 per cent.

Overall, market breadth on the BSE favoured sellers in a ratio of 2.5:1.

Before we close, here’s a look at some of the other top developments of the day:

• The Ministry of Finance informed the Lok Sabha on Monday that it had received a proposal from the Reserve Bank of India for an amendment to the RBI Act to enhance the scope of the definition of 'bank note' to include currencies in the digital form.

• Separately, the government seems to have no proposal to recognise Bitcoin as a currency in the country. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in a reply to the Lok Sabha on Monday that the government did not collect data on Bitcoin transactions.

• Lastly, India's first cryptocurrency unicorn, CoinDCX, plans to bring an initial public offering as soon as government regulations allow it, said co-founder Neeraj Khandelwal.